It’s the beautiful month of May and it’s also our opportunity to celebrate Mothers Day. Everyone is touched in one way or another by mothers. We have one, are one, know one, want to be one. You get my drift. We all have a relationship in one form or another with a mother. Many of us have lost our moms, have difficult relationships with our moms, or enjoy them immensely. Whatever your relationship it has helped you become the person you are. With the onset of Covid-19, motherhood morphed. Quarantined at home 24×7 with offspring, alone or sharing responsibility with a spouse or significant other not only for the normal day-to-day caregiving, but also suddenly faced with the responsibility of teaching a full school workload made things a little crazy. Moms, and everyone else, are hoping Covid-19 comes to an end soon. In the interim, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there!! I thought it would be appropriate to have some of my guest bloggers respond to the question, “What is the best advice you ever got from your mom?” Read on for some wonderful and heartwarming responses. Kelsee-Briana Jai: One of the best pieces of advice that I received from my mama is to follow your gut. Your visions are your own, so it is important to do what you feel is right in your heart. This has yet to steer me wrong! Marnie Goldberg: If you want to have friends, you need to BE a friend. I’ve always liked that advice. Meaning, don’t expect people to come to you, be the friend they want to be friends with (hopefully that means being yourself) and the friends will come. But if you sit at home wondering why you don’t have friends…you can’t make friends if you don’t put yourself out there! Heather from Sydney Grace: The best advice my mom has given me is to trust in the Lord. Joanne Harrell: Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. Rick Wong: I effectively had two moms. My mother’s younger sister invested in me after our dad passed when I was 10. My mom raised two boys by herself. We weren’t angels. Auntie Priscilla had a nursing degree, but business was her passion. She and my uncle built a very successful construction and real estate business. She was in the Women’s Who’s Who of Business, was super smart, tough as nails, and set high expectations for my cousins, and us. I think nursing taught her about depression and she knew I was struggling with our dad’s passing. Thankfully, she saw it when doctors didn’t. One summer night, after my sophomore year in college, she was emphasizing the importance of education and hard work, to all the cousins. She gave personalized advice to each cousin, my brother and me. She said to me, “You need to get your grades up, but I’m not worried about you.” Why? I asked. She said, “You attract good people. People want to help you before yo u ask. If you treat others well… you’ll do well. They can’t teach that in college. You get it from your dad.” My mom’s life was full of heartache. Her first husband was killed in WWII and my dad died from ulcers at 50. She raised two boys on her own by putting her trust in God and approaching each day as it came. She never got above the poverty line, and got help from her sister, brother, and great friends. Mom wasn’t built to do everything on her own. Even so, she figured out how to manage two troublemakers and be a virtual mom to an incredible grandson, my brother’s son. She was a loving Po-Po (grandma in Cantonese) to our kids, the consummate hostess, and the best cook in the world. When I took a 50% pay cut to join Microsoft, she was worried and said, “Rick, I don’t know how you got someone like Marilyn to marry you. She’s too good for you. If you mess it up, I’ll disown you and adopt her.” Later, when our son was 20, we were out to dinner and he said, “Dad, how did you ever get mom to marry you?” Happy Mother’s Day Mom, Auntie Priscilla, and Marilyn. Abby Bliss White: My mom always taught me to get up every day, make my bed, and put my face on despite what was going on each day. When I was young I thought this was a bit extreme but I have to admit that this advice has helped me out so much in my life and especially during Covid-19. During this unsettling time it has been so helpful to wake up every day, make my bed, put my face on and FACE the DAY! Rosalyn Arntzen: What a Tangled Web We Weave/When First We Practice to Deceive! The truth IS so much easier and also less stressful. She also taught me to believe in myself and I could do anything I set my mind to. It’s nice to have confidence to “give it a try”. Lisa J: I don’t know if this falls into advice, but one thing I learned from my mom, and always felt supported on was to follow my passion and do it would lead to great things. I felt lost after high school because I didn’t have some clear path I wanted to take. I loved makeup and while it didn’t feel like the traditional path my friends were taking, it ended up leading me to where I am today. I’m grateful that I was accepted and supported by my mother always. Thank you to all the mom’s out there. To the ones past and present. To the ones who are the lessons and the blessings. To each and every one of you – have an amazing day celebrating your mom or your own motherhood. | 
