Families around the world have been celebrating Mother’s Day for more than a century. There’s no shortage of reasons to be grateful for mom, who wiped away our tears, showed us how to stretch our legs, and taught us everything would be okay. Giving mom a special day all her own is the least we can do to show appreciation for her love, sacrifice, and encouragement.
To mark this important holiday, we’ve asked family historians to share some of the most meaningful and memorable words and sentiments they have received from mom. The responses we received varied greatly – from the sentimental to the humorous – showing just how personal memories of mom are.
We hope you enjoy these words and sentiments, and that they get you thinking about memories of your own mother. Mother’s Day, after all, is all about remembering and appreciating the special women who made us who we are today.
If you are fortunate enough to celebrate Mother’s Day with mom this year, think about recording family moments to save them for future generations. The FamilySearch Memories app can help you preserve special occasions with mom and document other family memories of relatives past and present.
Favorite Words and Sentiments from Mom
“One of my favorite memories from when I was young is my mother singing a few lines from a Bushel and a Peck. Whenever I was feeling low or just needed her to hold me, she would sing:
‘I love you, a bushel and a peck!
A bushel and a peck, and a hug around my neck!’
The best part...hearing her sing it to my children. Always brings a smile to my face and warmth to my heart.”
Holly is the founder of Treasured by Holly. You can follow her on Twitter.
“My mom taught me a very important safety poem while riding in cars:
‘Don’t stick your hand out quite so far
Or it might go home with another car.’
Wise words!”
A.J. is the founder of Global Family Reunion. You can follow him on Twitter.
Capture your favorite poems, songs, and sayings from mom! Use the FamilySearch Memories app to preserve family memories this Mother’s Day.
“Mom taught everything more by example and in the way she treated our family and others. She was kind to everyone, and always willing to help someone out. She cooked all our food, she sewed all our clothes, she made every holiday an event, and expected us to always do and be our best.
I was raised believing two things without any shred of a doubt. The first is that Heavenly Father knows me, loves me, and guides my life. The second is that because of the first, I can do anything. She raised me without any limits on possibilities. I love and miss my mom every day.”
Tami provides tips and insights family historians can use to research ancestors online. You can follow her on Twitter.
“My mom is one of the kindest people I know. She serves more than anyone that I’ve ever met. She taught me as a little girl that being helpful, loving, and kind was what was most important. I have found that this advice has not only helped me find happiness and balance in my life but has also helped me to teach my kids the same principles. They have their grandma to look up to and I too can always hope to be more like her.”
Melissa is the founder of A Sparkle of Genius. You can follow her on Twitter.
“My favorite thing I remember my mom saying is, ‘I love you, and remember who you are.’ She said this every time I left the house. This helped me at school or with friends to make good decisions and stand for the right. I was always blessed with extra strength to stand tall through adversity because I knew I had the love of my mom and my Father in Heaven. Love you mom.”
Carissa is the founder of Carissa Miss. You can follow her on Instagram.
What did your mother say to help you stand for what’s right and do well by others? Record personal reflections about how mom has helped make you the person you are with the FamilySearch Memories app for preserving family memories.
“I was a curious, creative, unconventional kid. Whenever I felt like I didn’t fit in, my Mom would gently say to me, “Normal is a cycle on the washing machine.”
She always smiled as she said this simple statement, and it reassured me that no matter how quirky I was, or how unusual I felt, “normalcy” was relative, maybe even irrelevant!
Her words were said with such sincerity and love; they made me take myself a little less seriously. ;)
As I grew into adulthood and started to think of my quirkiness as an asset, I couldn’t help but repeat my Mom’s words! She knew, even when I was a confused junior high kid, that my unique perspective on the world would serve me well later in life.
And here I am now, an entrepreneur who has started and sold businesses. My unconventional approach to life has actually helped me problem-solve, take big risks, and have confidence in my ideas.
I think Moms have a special role to play in their children’s lives, especially when it comes to honoring their children’s unique gifts and perspectives.
I’m so grateful for my Mom’s influence in my life!
Rachel is the founder of Save Family Photos. You can follow her on Instagram.
“I can’t pinpoint a specific moment or phrase from my mom that shaped my life, it was more like her attitude toward me. I really felt like she was certain that I could do and be anything I wanted and I would get her full support – no matter what. I felt like she trusted me to make good choices and was there to back me up.”
Diahan is the founder of Your DNA Guide. You can follow her on Twitter.
“My mom constantly showed me how to have faith and be happy no matter the circumstances. Just her very nature of optimism and a positive attitude made me feel safe and happy, even during challenging times. She really is a mom that sees ‘sunshine and roses’ and while many people might think that is a naive approach to life, I think it’s a brave, faithful, and joyful approach to life. After all, aren’t we here to be happy?
I’m so thankful mom passed that gift to me, my kids, and other family members. Her six children, six in-laws, and 28 grandchildren will feel this legacy, and more will be impacted as we all share this approach to life. One mother can influence thousands! I love you, mom!”
Rhonna is the founder of Rhonna Designs. You can follow her on Twitter.
What words from mom have helped you to feel safe, supported, and happy? Preserve important family memories with the help of the FamilySearch Memories app.
“My mom always quoted Thumper from Bambi, and would say, ‘If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.’ I find myself saying that to my kids all the time.”
Mariel is the founder of Or So She Says…. You can follow her on Twitter.
“My mother was not sentimental. Practical and adventurous, she lived her life as she wished, not as society dictated was fitting for a woman of her generation.
When I was 17, in a time when girls were expected to become nurses or secretaries, look for a husband and settle down, Mom took me aside and said, ‘Don’t ever depend on anyone else, man or woman, to take care of you. You are responsible for yourself. Marry if you wish but don’t make your husband your savior. Go to university, get a good job, and make your own life.’”
Lorine is the founder of The Olive Tree Genealogy. You can follow her on Twitter.
“My mom told me, ‘Believe in yourself. Just because someone else has more money, more advantages, or more opportunities, don’t let this make you feel that they are better than you or that you are less of a person. Never give up even when something seems difficult or impossible to accomplish.’”
Lisa is founder of The Accidental Genealogist. You can follow her on Twitter.
“My mother is loving, but fierce. The mother of seven children, she had her last child at the age of 47 and her first at 18. She has no patience for quitters and those who don’t try. Growing up her frequent saying when we said we couldn’t do something (which was apparently often) was, ‘can’t never could.’
That saying never failed to make me mad when I was growing up. I wanted to quit, I wanted it to be easy – shoot, I wanted my mom to do it for me! Mom wasn’t having any of it. I may have been her baby, but she didn’t believe in babying me or anyone else.
While I did not appreciate it at all when I was younger, I am so very grateful…now. Mom taught me to fly on my own, to not give up when things were tough, and to now say to my own children the dreaded, but powerful phrase, ‘can’t never could.’ Thanks mom.”
Valerie is the founder of Family Cherished. You can follow her on Twitter.
What important life lessons from mom do you take with you every day? Document family memories with your mom by using the FamilySearch Memories app.
“My late mother, Marquita, was a Hollywood actress, an associate producer during the early years of television, and a writer. Like most kids, my grammar wasn’t particularly great and she would constantly correct me. ‘You wouldn’t say, Him went to the store, or Me went to the store. So why wouldn’t you say He and I went to the store instead of Him and me?’ I’d tell her ‘It doesn’t matter. Everybody knows what I mean!’
But as I grew, I learned how important it was to communicate properly and how it positively impacted the way other people viewed me. I can never thank her enough for that.”
Scott is the host and producer of Extreme Genes, America’s Family History Radio Show. You can follow him on Facebook.
“My mother would sing us a song every morning to wake us up. Sometimes she’d yell it up the stairs and flash the hallway lights to wake us up, or bring us up breakfast in bed before school and sing, ‘The cows get up in the morning, they always say good day, good day!’
I still to this day have no idea what it means, but it sure does make me smile and instantly put me in a good mood. Even to this day may mom will sometimes do this on my voice mail!”
Al is the founder of In the Head of Al. You can follow her on Twitter.
“My mother was born in May. Now that she is gone, this is the month during which I think of her most often. Mother’s Day is especially hard.
One of the lessons she taught was how to set a perfect table. It was a skill best employed at formal family dinners, like Thanksgiving. A profusion of napkins, dishes, cutlery, and glasses all had to be arranged just so on the huge mahogany table that dominated our dining room.
After everyone ate their fill, we would fall back into the high backed chairs upholstered in satin fabric and breathe a collective sigh of contentment. My mother would say, ‘I have dined sufficiently and any more would be superfluous.’
I absolutely loved hearing her say that and have mimicked her sophisticated riff many times.”
Sharon is the founder of Our Black Ancestry and the co-author of Gather at the Table. You can follow her on Facebook.
What family memories with mom do you most treasure? Use the FamilySearch Memories app to record personal reflections about mom and other family members.
“When I was a little girl, with wild blonde curls and dimples like deep wells of cheer, my mother told me that she had, that day, ‘taken a picture of me with her heart.’
It was a sizzling summer day in New England, and I was wearing a cotton sunsuit, red and blue pioneer plaid, the style of the bicentennial, and brown sandals, inherited from my brother. I was skipping (my usual mode of joyful neighborhood transportation) down the sidewalk toward my friend Jenny’s house, singing a child’s song in little staccato bursts of contentment.
My mother, bending to pull a mangy weed at the edge of the driveway, straightened to watch me go and, with an intake of breath – her heart took a picture of the purity, the innocence, the beauty, the hope, the perfection of childhood and of me, at age six.
I knew then that I was resplendent with the charms God gave me, bobbing ringlets and unselfconscious gladness; and they have not been lost, but are preserved forever – in the heart of my mother.”
Hadley is Marketing Communications Coordinator, Partner Services at FamilySearch.
Now It’s Your Turn
Take inspiration from the words above and record your favorite words and sentiments from mom. If you are spending time with relatives over the weekend for Mother’s Day, take a few moments to preserve family memories for generations to follow!
