hi mom!

I was out with my mom this weekend and she said she faithfully clicks over to my blog every morning hoping to see a new post, and gets so sad when she sees the same old post that's been there since October 23rd.

But since I've got to keep my status as the favorite child, here I am!

A new store opened in our area a few weeks ago called Home Sense.  I'd heard that it was like "Home Goods on steroids" and I love nothing more than a huge store full of discount home decor, so we decided to make a trip out on Saturday.  For the last few years, my mom has done 99.9% of the driving when we go out together, but since I have a new reliable vehicle, I drove this weekend.

When my brother and I learned to drive we would always laugh because my mom used to press an imaginary brake pedal while she sat in the passenger seat, and would sometimes even hold onto the handle on the roof if we made a particularly hasty maneuver.  Oh, we were so wise and knowledgeable at sixteen.  Our silly mother!  Imagine!  Being nervous about a completely inexperienced child behind the wheel of a vehicle!

Of all the hypothetical future parenting tasks to worry about, here are my two biggest fears: teaching a child to ride a bike and drive a car.  I've already assigned those two jobs to Matt, along with any and all math homework.  Give me anything that can be done on solid ground and/or with a calculator.  If it has wheels or involves an equation with one or more variable, oh Laura Darling, OUT.

My dad was the one who taught me to ride a bike, which, from what I understand, was quite a challenge because I had a tendency to simply take my feet off of the pedals mid-ride.  My dad pretty much taught me to ride a bike with six words.  Those words were "KEEP YOUR FEET ON THE PEDALS!"

As it turns out, those words were good advice for me not only when it came to mastering a two-wheeler, but life in general.  When things look like they might go off track or what's coming from the other way is a little overwhelming, just keep your feet on the pedals.

I don't remember my dad teaching my brother to ride a bike, but I do remember being in the car while he taught Phil to drive a car.  And I remember he used three words for that, and said them three times in a row.  Those words were "Stop the car. Stop the car.  STOP THE CAR!!!"

It's almost like my dad gave the perfect advice that each of us would need for the rest of our lives.  To confirm this theory, I asked my sister what piece of dad's advice she remembered most, and she said "Easy --- Put a hat on, the barometer is falling." 

Theory confirmed.

But it certainly wasn't just my dad who gave advice. 

We didn't have a dishwasher at our house until I was in high school. 

Until then, we used disposable EVERYTHING.

Just kidding.  We hand washed. 

We also had side salads with dinner every single night in little wooden salad bowls that couldn't go in the dishwasher when we got one.  When my brother and I would do the dishes, my mom would motion with both hands and remind us, "Don't put the salad bowls in the dishwasher."

Eventually she would just do the hand motion and we would say "We know! Don't put the salad bowls in the dishwasher!"  

As time went on, the directive kind of took on a general meaning of do the right thing/act like I expect/don't let me down.  Now, years later, if mom does that hand motion or says "Don't put the salad bowls in the dishwasher," we all know exactly what she's really saying.

While it's not necessarily advice, another thing my mom always says is "There is always hope."  No matter the circumstances or situation, there is always hope.

Maybe that's what I was thinking when I kept taking my feet off the pedals and hoping for the best.

Or what my mom is thinking every morning when she opens my blog.