By: Dr. Phyllis Bivins-Hudson
What’s in a quote?
Quotes have been around for thousands of years and are designed to impact our lives in some way. They are creatively crafted and memorable.
When we see quotes, we often look to them for their beauty, the wisdom they convey, their inspiration, humor, and the emotions they evoke in us.
Quotes are powerful because they can affect change in our behavior and our lives. When we read some of them and consider their worth, we often find that they also give us the confidence and motivation we need to move forward successfully.
Unfortunately, however, sometimes quotes can tear us down. When I read them and find unfavorable messages, I think of them as ways to improve my status.
Therefore, I try to see them in a positive light, even if they appear to cloud my judgment or dampen my spirit. Sometimes quotes can be overused, when they are, they become cliches and should not find their way into our writing if possible.
So if you are thinking about crafting your quote, remember to be original; otherwise, your quote will fall into that category we try to avoid.
Since May represents so many different special days, I thought I’d concentrate on the one we all seem to know, love, and celebrate, and that is Mother’s Day.
So, in her honor, in your honor, in your mother’s honor, I leave you with one quote for each day in May.
I encourage you to read one a day and reflect on each meaning and how they resonate with your life or the life of your mother or a mother.
Pick out your favorite and let me know which one it is or send me your favorite. I’d love to post it with a comment from you.
Disclaimer: Except for quotes one through three, the remaining ones were borrowed from Country Life, Terri Robertson May 5, 2023.
1. “Mom is always with me even though she’s no longer earth-bound—I hear her in my speech, I see her in my compact, I smell her when spring arrives, I feel her presence when my heart aches and I remember the tastes of all the great meals from her kitchen. She’s forever with me.” Phyllis Bivins-Hudson
2. “She loves everybody! Everybody’s her favorite! She’s sooo extra! In all the best ways.” Tawana Bivins Rosenbaum
3. “She is. That’s it. Fill in the blanks with a bunch of sugar and spice and everything nice. Period!” Zammeah Bivins-Gibson
4. “It’s not easy being a mother. If it were, fathers would do it.” The Golden Girls
5. “A mother is the truest friend we have.” Washington Irving
6. “Everything good in me, I got it from my mama.” Honey County, “Got It From My Mama”
7. “She’s the only reason I’m able to do what I do.” Leonardo DiCaprio
8. “Moms are like buttons. They hold it all together. ” Unknown
9. “If I know what love is, it is because of you.” Hermann Hesse
10.“One of the most important relationships we’ll have is the relationship we have with our mothers.” Iyanla Vanzant
11.“My mother’s love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, her intelligence reflected in my daughters.” Michelle Obama
12.“Life doesn’t come with a manual; it comes with a mother.” Unknown
13.“Call your mother. Tell her you love her. Remember you’re the only person who knows what her heart sounds like from the inside.” Rachel Wolchin
14.“My mother never gave up on me. I messed up in school so much they were sending me home, but my mother sent me right back.” Denzel Washington
15.“No one in your life will ever love you as your mother does. There is no love as pure, unconditional and strong as a mother’s love.” Hope Edelman
16.“Her children rise up and call her blessed.” Proverbs 31:28
17.“She’s the sky that holds the clouds.” The Band Perry, “Mother Like Mine”
18.“But only a mother can walk with the weight of a second beating heat,” Ocean Vuong, “Headfirst”
19.“I love my mother as trees love water and sunshine. She helps me grow, prosper, and reach greater heights.” Terri Guillemets
20.“Ain’t a woman alive who could take my mama’s place.” Tupac Shakur
21.“I find the backbone of a mother to be the strongest, yet most pliable of them all; to bend over backward and still be a pillar—some call it magic.” Ka’ala
22.“To describe my mother would be to write about a hurricane in its perfect power. Or the climbing, falling colors of a rainbow.” Maya Angelou
23.“My mother never gave me any idea that I couldn’t do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. …I don’t know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her.” Rory, “The Gilmore Girls”
24.“A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.” Victor Hugo
25.“I think every working mom probably feels the same thing: You go through big chunks of time where you’re just thinking, ‘This is impossible—oh, this is impossible.’ And then you just keep going and keep going, and you sort of do the impossible.” Tina Fey
26.“The woman who is my best friend, my teacher, my everything: Mom.” Sandra Vischer
27.“I like it when my mother smiles. And I especially like it when I make her smile.” Adriana Trigiani
28.“The best place to cry is on a mother’s arms.” Jodi Picoult
29.“The bond between a mother and her child is the only real and purest bond in the world, the one true love we can ever find in our lifetime.” Ama H. Vanniarachchy
30.“God couldn’t be everywhere so that is why he invented mothers.” Daphne Wilder, “Because I Said So”
31.“Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” William Makepeace Thackeray
For those of you who are fortunate enough to still have your mother with you, there is no time like the present to tell her how much you love and appreciate her.
Tomorrow is not promised and yesterday is gone. So why not today?
I invite you to join me on my Instagram platform @drpgbhudson for Part 2 with author Justin Wilson, Courageous Vulnerabilityinterview on Thursday, May 16th, at 6:30 PM EST, along with mental health counselor Consuela Stallings.
And for our final segment in this mini-series, join me on June 13th at 6:30 PM EST for Part 3 of the Justin Wilson interview with a licensed social worker, Kiki Black, as we wrap up with Courageous Vulnerability.
Happy Mother’s Day to you all! Until next time, keep flying on your own wings.
