Good or bad, we learn so much about life from our parents…or the people who raised us. When we’re little, our parents can do no wrong. They are heroes. What they say goes. When we grow up, we realize they were just people trying to figure life out. They could (and did) do wrong. They didn’t have all the answers. What they said shouldn’t have gone. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, isn’t it?

While I’ll never have more compassion for my parents than I do right now. I can honestly say I learned so much about life from them. In honor of Mother’s Day 2024, and the first Mother’s Day without my mom, I can’t help but reflect on some of the amazing life lessons I’ve learned from the woman who raised me.

For context, my parents divorced when I was little. My dad didn’t treat my mom how she deserved to be treated, so she decided to move on without him. One of the biggest lessons in life I’ve learned from my mom is that being independent is a blessing. While my dad was still present for my brother and me, my mom didn’t need him. She wasn’t a woman to put up with intolerable things because she “needed” a man in her life. She showed me that being independent – having her own job, being self-sufficient, and managing her money – is an essential part of life.

I never saw my mom struggle to pay bills, stress out because she didn’t have a man, or be afraid to go places on her own. She was the definition of independent and it’s because of what she went through in life before I was even a thought in her mind. Life’s circumstances forced her to take care of herself, and as a result she taught me that an independent woman is a force to be reckoned with.

As she got closer to the end of her life, she never complained, she never stressed anyone out, and she always had a smile on her face. When I was little, she wouldn’t be afraid to raise her voice, but I learned respect from her.

Another lesson in life I learned from my mom is that people remember your kindness. If there was one word I would use to describe my mom, it would be “sweet.” She was such a sweet person, a kind person. Even after she passed, people had nothing but fond, sweet memories of her and her character. She didn’t play games and she wasn’t afraid to stand up for what was right, but she was always kind.

My mom taught me that people remember your kindness. They may not remember what you say but they will remember how you make them feel. As I remember my mom, I remember her sweet, caring nature and feel so blessed to have witnessed it. It’s made me a more compassionate person and reminds me to always be kind because we never know what people are going through.

Life is fleeting. We don’t know how good we have it until things change. We also don’t know how good things can and will be in the future. Making the most of every moment and doing so with grace, positivity, and compassion is what makes life worth living.

As we take this month to love on our mothers, remember they are people too; people just trying to figure this thing called life out. And, if you’re a mom trying to figure things out, I see you and I respect you. Keep going.

What life lessons have you learned from your mom? How can you take those lessons and live a better life because of them?