Monday, April 13, 2009

Friend Makin' Monday -- Good Advice


My friend Kasey at All That is Good gets us all looking forward to Mondays with Friend Makin' Mondays, a super-fun way to make good Bloggy friends. 

Today is one of my favorite FMM topics: What is the best advice someone has ever given you?

For me, the answer is easy.

I have to preface this by saying that --and I'm sure many of you can relate -- my Mother is full of all kinds of Mom-isms.  Pieces of advice that she, as a Mom, feels obligated to give.  Like her advice when I went to college.  As she was moving me into my dorm, she told me the 2 things I should never do:

1. Never play with a Ouija Board and 
2. Never (ahem) with a boy before getting married.  
(Don't most parents just tell their kids to study hard when they're heading off to college???)  

Anyway, one of her Mom-isms has turned out to be the simplest and most profound bit of advice that I have lived by:

"Don't marry someone you can live with; Marry someone you can't live without."

Essentially, Don't Settle.  And with every boy I've dated, I've always asked myself, "Can I live without him?"  And when Chris came along, and the answer was "NO," I knew that he was the one I would marry.  That whole "don't settle" advice has helped me with so many other things -- like to accept or decline a job offer, or whether or not I should make a large purchase...  If I find myself thinking, "I could MAKE this work" OR "I could LEARN to live with it" instead of "I can't live without it!", then I know I'm settling, and it's not best for me.

Leave it to Mom.  She always knows best.

And I'm so glad!


What's the best advice you've gotten?  Go here and join in the fun!

15 comments:

  1. Posted right below you on Kasey's sight. I thought it was time I introduced myself.......love hooking up with your friends! Becca and I are BFFs now, did you know? heehee

    I have got to figure out the Mr. Linky thing......as well as the posting awards thing. Becca tried to help me, I'm a lost cause.

    LOVE your mom's advice......I've been on the receiving end of some of her gems of wisdom myself!

    Miss you!!!
    Keri

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  2. Awesome advice! Moms really are pretty smart!:-) That really is beautiful, and I need to save this for my kiddos when they get older! Thanks for sharing!

    Tanielle

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  3. Ahh how sweet is that?!!?

    I'm always such a smarta$$ with my answers. Those really are words to live by! Now go put on some lipstick and tell hubby to tuck in his
    shirt ;)

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  4. How funny that we were just talking about that the other night too huh??

    Always GREAT advice coming from you my friend!!

    Have a great week- try not to juggle 7 things tomorrow! :))

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  5. Such great advice! Definitely words to live by!

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  6. Ah, such sage advice! My HS sweetie broke my heart and I "settled" and married someone else. That didn't work. My HS sweetie is now my hub (slow learner, that one.)

    I joke and have said that just because you can't get the Mercedes doesn't mean you turn down a nice Honda. (I mean, you need a car, right?) However, had I known then what I know now, I'd have bought a bus pass and just waited!

    So right! Don't settle! :-)

    Love your blog!

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  7. Hi Christie!

    Great advice! Your mom is so smart! I am going to add that to my list to pass on to my kids!

    Thanks! I hope things are going well with you!

    XOXO
    Jen

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  8. Found you on the FMM and love your Mom's advice! I've never thought of asking that quesiton and realize I must have done something close to that 30 years ago..LOL! Glad to meet you!
    Alicia

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  9. Oh what good advice! and so true - I will have to remember that to pass on to my kids...

    Have a great week!
    Jen

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  10. Good advice from that mom of yours. Isn't it great to see the rewards of good advice?

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  11. I LOVE this and truer words were never spoken! We all deserve someting better than "settling". I enjoy your posts so much!

    Have a great rest of the week.

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  12. Oh, what good advice!!!!

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  13. your mom is a smart lady!

    thanks for stopping by my blog!

    :)

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  14. WOW! What wonderful advice, you have a very wise mommy! I think we all need to pass this along to our children and remember it daily in our own marriages. Have a great day!

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