My Elder

My mother's words of wisdom: "Never be afraid to have fun; don't let what other people say stop you; and never put bowls on your head in public."

My mother is, without a doubt, the strongest person I know. She has a hard life, but never has anything but a smile on her face. However, she did not approve of the word "elder". She said it made her sound old and she "most certainly is not!". The wisdom she passed along to me today is something many people will tell you over the years; and most of these people don't take their own advice. But not my mother. She proved to me many years ago that she meant what she says, which brings me to explain the last line of her "words of wisdom", as the story behind it definitely backs up her advice. It happened many years ago; I was only in 6th grade. My mother and I were in a dollar store, browsing the clearance aisle, when a big wooden bowl caught her eye. She proceeded to put the bowl on her head and sing a song, right there in the store. Evidently, bowls must be able to double as hats to be worth their price! About that time, an employee walked up to her. Wow, was that ever embarrassing. But it did not matter to her. According to her, she's "not afraid to have fun. and if someone makes fun of [her], they really just want to join [her], only they're scared of what other people will think". Because her daughter is intimidated by everyone, she thought this wisdom would be good to pass along.