SIbling Assignment # 20: A Tribute to Our Mother

I made this for Mom in second grade. We found it in a box recently.

Today we honor our mothers. We celebrate the vibrant lives our mothers continue to live. We fondly remember those mothers and grandmothers no longer with us. Our sibling assignment this week is to write a tribute to our mother. Raymond Pert’s is here. Silver Valley Girl’s is here.
As I looked back on fifty-two years of time spent with my mother I wanted to reflect on the words of wisdom she had passed on to us as we moved from childhood through adulthood.

Words of Wisdom from Mary Idell West Woolum
- I don’t care if the gash on your foot is bleeding. We always cut toenails before rushing a child to the emergency room.
- Don’t ever drive a car in northern Idaho if the roads are slick.
- In case we get in a car accident, don’t wear old underwear with holes in it.
- If you deadhead your annual flower blossoms, they will come back bigger and better.
- When you cut lilacs for a bouquet, pound the stems with a hammer before putting them in water to make them last longer.
- Don’t eat your Halloween candy all the first day after trick-or-treating.
- Don’t pull the drawer in the frig out too far. (it requires an unbelievable rearrangement of the kitchen to fix… I know-been there, done that).
- Only have one day a week to water all the houseplants. That way you can keep track of whether you have done them all.
- Save every check, bill, receipt, and document for the last fifty years. You may need that information at some point.
- Always keep a stash of candy in undisclosed places for late night snacking while doing school work.
- When recycling food cans, wash them, peel the labels, and smash them before putting them into the bin.
- Always keep your frig and basement food shelf stocked with enough food to feed a family of five. When your children and grandchildren come to visit nobody can ever say, “There is nothing to eat.”
- Don’t run with that sucker in your mouth. You might fall and choke to death.
- Return all VHS tapes after watching shows I’ve taped if you want more taped.
- Don’t run any faucet or flush a toilet when somebody is showering in the basement. You will either get scalded or frozen. (been there, done that also)
- Read to your children, get them library cards, and have shelves of books in the house.
- Teach your children how to cook, bake, preserve, and freeze food.
- Emphasize the importance of cutting coupons, doing rebates, and checking grocery ads. If a watermelon isn’t ripe or you weren’t given the discount on prime rib, go back to the store and have them make good.
- Don’t ever start smoking.
- When you are diagnosed with cancer, educate yourself, be positive, and believe you will beat it. Always go out and weed the garden after your first chemo treatment.
- Subscribe to a good collection of magazines. Have them organized by year so when anyone needs information on any subject the magazines are available.
- Two things to remember when you teach school. Always buy good quality shoes so your feet and legs won’t ache at the end of the day. Don’t wear jeans to teach.
- Always wash down the walls and the ceiling of your kitchen once a year whether it needs it or not.
- Please don’t ever forget… there is no place like home.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom!

I found this in an antique store and gave it to Mom for Christmas a few years ago. It graces a wall in her living room. This is what it says:

It is a wonderful thing
A Mother
Other folks can love you, but only
Your mother understands.
She works for you, looks after you,
loves you, forgives you
anything you may do, understands
you, and then the only thing bad
she ever does to you
is to die and leave you.