Sometimes the best lessons we learn from our mothers are not the things they try to teach us directly – like how to tie our shoes or how to ride a bike. We often learn the important ones when we ask, “Why did you do that?”

Here is a story I heard that reminded me of the important lessons we learn from moms:

One day, I asked my mom if she would cook my favorite dinner. She said, “Follow me,” and knocked on the neighbor’s door and asked to borrow a casserole dish.

I was confused because we had plenty of baking dishes at home, so I asked, “Why did you ask for something we don’t need?”

She told me, “They sometimes ask us for things and I wanted them to know we all need each other. So I asked them for something small that would not burden them. By giving us something, now it will be much easier for them to ask us for something again.”

Then she smiled and said, “We also never return a dish without something in it, so we get to share your favorite dinner with them.”

Mother is a verb. It’s something you do. Not just who you are. – Dorothy Canfield Fisher

Happy Mother’s Day!
Gino Pezzani