passed down from mother to child

I was standing in front of the freezer, getting myself a giant microwavable frozen pretzel, praising myself for my forethought on putting pieces of saran wrap in between each pretzel so that they don’t stick together, when I realized something. That’s not my trick. That’s my mother’s! She did that for everything she froze. You say you have extra flour tortillas that you want to freeze?? Stick some plastic wrap in between each and you won’t have to break them apart once they become solid inch-thick frisbees! And that’s not all folks! She has taught me many tricks over the years:

- You should always wear a new pair of shoes around the house before you spend a whole day at work suffering from the pinched little toe syndrome.
- Never flush a tampon down the toilet because you’re just asking for trouble. (Even if the box says you can!).
- Change out of your bathing suit when you’re done in the water because that’s just a yeast infection waiting to happen.
- Take the time to be together because once you have kids, it’s not jsut the two of you for another 20 years.
- Always take your makeup off before bed, because no matter how tired you are, your skin will thank you. And do you really want to deal with the mess it’ll make on your pillowcase?
- Take time to be a kid. You have the rest of your life to work. Don’t be so anxious to grow up. (Man, don’t I wish I’d listened to that one a little more carefully.)
- Remember your neck when you apply moisturizer - our family women are prone to turkey neck.
- Don’t lie. Some where, some time, someone will find out and you’ll regret it.
- Snakes are evil, slithering creatures that should be avoided, and if seen, you should jump up and down on it until it stops moving. Or shot it. But under no circumstances should it EVER be allowed in the house.
- Sometimes store-bought is better than homemade. Sometimes.
- Hold hands with your husband. It’s the little things that keep the magic alive.
- Painted toe nails can make any feet look cute.
- Try to tell your husband everyday how much he means to you. Even if you’re so mad at him right then you could sear the flesh from his face with a raise of your eyebrow.
- Never be afraid to ask for help.

These are just some of the many, many things that I’ve learned from my mother. But the most important thing I have learned, and that I’m just starting to realize is the most important one, is that I will be incredibly lucky if I grow up to be just like her.