What Mothers Leave Inside Us.
Aliyah and I were having one of those wonderfully ordinary evenings at home. She had just returned from visiting her parents when I asked her if she knew where a particular book of mine was. I had looked everywhere. Without even thinking, she said, “It’s in the third drawer from the top in the living room.” I checked. She was right. I looked at her, genuinely amazed. “How did you possibly know that?” She smiled. “I got it from my mother.” Apparently, her mother had taught her something very simple when she was young: Give everything a place. And always put it back in the same place. Do that, she had told her, and you will almost never lose anything. I found myself smiling. What a wonderfully ordinary thing to inherit. A habit. A way of thinking. A small piece of wisdom that quietly makes everyday life easier. And then I wondered how much of our lives is actually made up of things we inherited from our parents without ever putting a name to them. Perhaps you inherited your mother's habit of making guests feel at home. Perhaps her patience. Her ability to remember everyone's birthday. The way she saved things “just in case.” Maybe you inherited her curiosity, her sense of humor, her stubbornness, her love of books, her way of making tea, or the instinct to call someone when you know they are having a difficult day. Some inherit a way of cooking. Some inherit a way of listening. Some inherit a particular phrase they find themselves saying years later, only to suddenly realize: “That sounds exactly like Mom.” That, I think, is one of the quiet miracles of being human. Our parents don't simply leave things to us. They leave things in us. And then, without always realizing it, we carry those things forward. One generation teaches the next how to make a home, how to solve a problem, how to show affection, how to endure disappointment, how to laugh at the right moment. And eventually, some of those lessons travel even further. A mother teaches her daughter. Her daughter teaches her children. And something that began in one person's life continues living in another. Human beings have been doing this for thousands of years. Long before books, schools and the internet, much of what one generation knew was passed to the next through observation, imitation and stories. Tonight, you might think for a moment about your mother. Not necessarily about something she gave you. Think about something she taught you without teaching you. A habit. A value. A way of looking at the world. A little piece of her that has somehow become a little piece of you. So, I will be curious to know, what is the best thing you inherited from your mother? Until tomorrow, Bob.
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