5 Things My Mom Did That I Want To Continue

When you’re growing up you often think your parent’s are mean, crazy, always out to punish you, or something within those lines. It isn’t until you get a little older, even have kids of your own that you start thinking about what the meaning behind some of those behaviors were.

I grew up with a working mom. She was a teacher during the school year, and she worked at my grandparents restaurant during the Summers, while they still had it. She worked hard to keep us kids happy, healthy and safe.

I think it’s easy to get caught up on all the things our parents did wrong, but they aren’t perfect. I know I’m not the perfect Mom. There are times I totally loose my cool, get caught up on my blog and social media or even miss out on a great time to chat and snuggle with my babies.

But, because of the foundation my mom set, and the things she did for us as kids, I feel like I have a good idea of what I should be doing to raise our girls.

In fact, my mom and I are very close. We talk everyday, see each other a few times a week, and I know she’d be there for me in a heartbeat if I needed her. So, here are five things my mom did that I want to continue with my girls.

Made dinner every single night

This seems so simple, but it’s something that has always stuck with me. We sat down as a family and ate together. After growing up and talking with other people, this is not the norm. I’ve heard people say they were on their own at night, or there wasn’t a lot of food in the house. I was beyond blessed that my mom cooked a full meal every night. Sure we occasionally had a meal out or ate leftovers, but it was always together.

Went to every school, sports or activity function

I could always count on my mom to be where I needed her to cheer me on. She sacrificed so much to be at every game, play or other activity I had going on. Sure there was the occasional parent split because my brother had something, but if she could be there…she was. If she wasn’t, then it was the first thing she asked me about when I saw her.

Late night chats

This one is my favorite. It started as a little girl having mini chats at tuck in time. But as I got older it was chatting abut dates, girls at school and honestly whatever I wanted to talk about. I always knew the chats in my room on my bed was a safe and sacred time to tell her anything. She always fostered an open communication policy and upheld her end of the bargain of not getting mad or judging too harshly. To this day I know I can talk to her about ANYTHING.

She didn’t keep things from us

Life isn’t perfect, and she always helped us know and understand this. If her and my dad had a disagreement, they didn’t keep it from us. If we were tight on money, we knew about it. Our family has always been an open book. In turn, it helped me know that relationships aren’t perfect. It’s ok to disagree and later come to a compromise. I love that there is no topic that’s off limits…Ever!

Spent a lot of quality time with us

Regardless of how tired or busy she was, she always took the time to be with us. It’s never about the amount of time spent, but rather the quality of the time that was spent. She always found ways to make things fun. Like family picnics in the living room, or making homemade hot chocolate on a snow day.  It was making the little things special and exciting that meant the most.

I know most of these don’t seem like big, Ah-Ha things, but they were so important to me. They all fostered a strong bond and relationship that we still have today. I believe it’s because of these things my mom, sister and I are the best of friends.

As my girls get older I find myself doing some of these same things in hopes they will continue to want to talk to me. Tell me when things aren’t going so well, or when it comes to the important stuff they won’t feel like they need to hide anything.

What are some of the things your mom did that you want to continue? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

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