20 Things My Mother Never Told Me 

My mother passed away eleven months ago. She was wiser than I gave her credit for. Perhaps over the years, she told me some of these things and I just wasn’t listening when I should have.

1. When everything turns to shit, laughter is gold.

2. If the shoe fits,  buy it in every color.

3. Commit to the moment. It’s gone in a blink.

4. In need of a support group? No worries. Cocktail hour with the girls is a no-brainer.

5. Life is always more interesting when you expect the unexpected.

6. You don’t need to be loved if the cost of that love is you being you.

7. No problem is unsolvable. Just put your big girl panties on and fucking deal with it.

8. Let your greatest fear be that there is no such thing as PMS and this is just your personality getting a facelift.

9. Don’t disrespect your elders because one day that will be you!

10. When you look in the mirror, love what you see.

11. We’re all just people seeking the same thing on the same path. We’re just in different places, heading in different directions along the way.

12. Forget about the perfect man. He doesn’t exist.

13. Most people spend their whole lives searching for happiness in something or someone. But the truth is, happiness doesn’t live on the street corner of success. It lives much closer to home than you think.

14. If it has tires or testicles, I promise it will give you trouble.

15. By the time a woman finally realizes her mother was right, she has a daughter who thinks she’s wrong.

16. Keep your chin up, it’s only the first 40 years of parenthood that are the hardest.

17. As the signs of old age creep up, forget the Botox. Forget the lift, the tuck. Don’t change a thing, because they reveal the greater story. Your story. The one that says: wrinkles mean you’ve laughed, gray hair means you’ve cared, scars mean you’ve lived. So wear them all with pride and save yourself the big bucks.

18. It’s when our world is at its darkest and our pain at its deepest that we find grace.

19. Never settle on the first dress.

20. Nothing happens to us by accident. Everything has a reason. The people who cross our path the experiences we have are all bashert. That’s Yiddish speak for “meant to be.”