Lessons from my mother...

My mother was a one of a kind woman, every day when I think of her and I get sad, I try to remind myself that I was lucky enough to have known her for 26ish years of my life - and during that time she taught me some very valuable lessons. Here are a few that I have been thinking about lately:

• How to make fideo 
• At least 15 different ways to make potatoes
• Retail therapy
• Honesty- how to be real with anyone and everyone that you encounter, not everyone appreciates this one
• How to spoil and love my nieces
• How to make a new meal with leftovers
• How to spoil myself
• How to make those that love me the most cry or infuriated with me
• How to make other people wait on me
• How to find treasures in antique shops or yard sales
• How to make people laugh
• How to wash dishes (with scolding hot water)
• How to challenge people
• How to ask the right questions to get people talking 
• How to be a good chismosa
• How to be obsessed with things, as of late collecting blankets and dolls
• Give trust cautiously, not all those that claim they are your friends are so; knowing how to identify who is using you for their own advantage 
• Sarcasm

Along with these I also constantly think about lessons she tried to teach me but I was not so quick to learn; I am currently trying to learn:

• Work is not my life - I need to have a life outside of work
• Buy good shoes, even if they are expensive, be nice to your feet; stop buying cute flats without arch support
• How to make mole and tamales
• How to make enchiladas (not your average ones but like the ones my mom made)
• How to make friends with strangers within 5 minutes of meeting them
• How to make food that my dad actually likes to eat
• How to make plants grow (I kill all my plants, even succulents)
• How to make Mexican rice
• How to get over situations that make me mad- she was very good at not staying angry
• How to laugh at life, and not take life too seriously
• How to tell a good story
• Sticking to a hobby (my mom gardened, knitted, journaled, cooked three meals a day, called myself and each of my siblings at least once a day and my grandmother several times a day, and had friends stop by periodically - all within the day and I have to force myself to go to the gym and to write)

I am looking to obtain lessons from my siblings as well, as she had a very unique relationship with each of us...