What my mother taught me by Whitney Osburn

What Mother Taught Me by Whitney Osburn
 
My mother taught me how to love softly,
Everyone, ecspecially my family.
She taught me to always have fresh flowers
In a jar right when you walk in the house,
I was taught to make enough food to feed
An entire house full of hungry pigs.
I was taught to be confident in every
Single thing I do in life, whatever it is.
I was taught that whatever we say means
Nothing, but words can hurt so much.
I learned that my mom was the only
Person who could take care of me when
I was sick and comfort me anytime.
The most valuable lesson that my
Mom has taught me is to believe in me.
I’ve learned that everything happens for a
Reason, and that some things will never be.
She has taught me how to find happiness,
To deal with every problem I have had,
To overcome my weakness, and to
Be there for those you love unconditionally.
She has taught me the value of family,
To believe that is what means the most.
She has taught me that even through
So much bad, there is happiness.
She has taught me to say please and thank you,
The value of life, and that siblings
Are a wonderful gift to have in life.
My mother is amazing in so many ways,
She has taught me so much, in so many ways.
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What I Learned From My Mother

What I Learned From My Mother

By Julia Kasdorf b. 1962 Julia Kasdorf

I learned from my mother how to love

the living, to have plenty of vases on hand

in case you have to rush to the hospital

with peonies cut from the lawn, black ants

still stuck to the buds. I learned to save jars

large enough to hold fruit salad for a whole

grieving household, to cube home-canned pears

and peaches, to slice through maroon grape skins

and flick out the sexual seeds with a knife point.

I learned to attend viewings even if I didn’t know

the deceased, to press the moist hands

of the living, to look in their eyes and offer

sympathy, as though I understood loss even then.

I learned that whatever we say means nothing,

what anyone will remember is that we came.

I learned to believe I had the power to ease

awful pains materially like an angel.

Like a doctor, I learned to create

from another’s suffering my own usefulness, and once

you know how to do this, you can never refuse.

To every house you enter, you must offer

healing: a chocolate cake you baked yourself,

the blessing of your voice, your chaste touch.