What My Mother Taught Me

My mother taught me much in life

How to be let down,

To keep expectations low.

She taught me how to strive

It's funny, she never did teach me to drive

I know to separate the lights from darks

To fill the sink with the hottest of water

If you don't want spots.

My mother showed me some basic rules

"Don't do as I do, do as I say"

She could scream insanely

And cry on a dime

I've learned wearing your heart on your sleeve

Is the best way to get people to leave.

Words never meant much

And she sure didn't show her affection through touch

I may now be awkward with hugs

But you should see how quickly I can load a U-Haul truck

Because if there is one thing you can rely on,

It is you cannot rely on others to move your stuff.

After it is all said and done, my hat off to her.

With bitterness and love

 I thank her, because

Her methods may have been unorthodox,

But I am grown now.

And will always remember what I have been taught.