Tuesday, January 28, 2014

My Mother Taught Me To Keep Things Simple


I spoke with my mother last night.  As usual, she was concerned about my well-being, especially concerning the strange weather patterns we are experiencing in the Midwest.  "How cold is it?"  she asked.  "If you stand outside for more than five minutes, you get frostbite," I answered.

The average length of time our six pound Chihuahua needs to do her business in the summertime is about seven minutes.  Good thing she adapted.  Yep.  She's keeping things simple – every morning she shaves another ten seconds off the clock.  That's what my mother taught me.  You figure out how much time you have to accomplish a task and then you do it in the time allotted.   Here are some lessons I learned from my mother about keeping things simple:
  1. You don't need a Facebook account to have solid relationships.
  2. No matter how many times you fall down, you can recover in time to have a quality retirement.
  3. Credit cards are for people who want to stay poor all their lives.
  4. Every choice you make has rewards and consequences.  Decide in advance if you want rewards or consequences.
  5. Complaining is not allowed.  It doesn't do anything to change the consequences.
  6. Prayers are free and they lead to simple solutions.
  7. Mean people take up too much personal space.  Avoid mean people.
  8. Forgiveness is free and it restores peace in your household.
  9. If you want to avoid a sunburn or frostbite, make sure you don't stay outside too long.
  10. If you feed your children, they will have food for a day; if you teach your children how to fish, they will have food for life.  Teach them how to fish.
Thanks, mom, for all the life lessons.  Yes, I agree with you about keeping things simple.  I know you take great pleasure in forcing people to get out of their FaceBook bubbles in order to stay in touch with you and while I won't ever give up my own account, I will make sure to make time to see my friends face-to-face like you do.  God bless you, mom.  Thanks for teaching me to keep things simple.

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