Nostradamus And Mom Mom!
Some say we should heed the words of Nostradamus, but I prefer to heed the words of Mom Mom. From morning until sleep, day in and year out, Mom Mom's around the world did and still remind us of how to live life without much disruption or problems as are necessary.
Wars could be averted, health enhanced, so forth and so on, Mom Mom's are proactive on all levels. She seems to know what could be coming and she has an interesting prophetic way of warning, but some do not listen and take seriously the Mom Mom insight and wisdom.
On rising and dressing for school, taking a trip, going out into the world we would hear "Remember to wear clean underwear." She knew we would eventually go through a TSA check revealing nasty stains in our shorts and panties. Then the lessons of "Don't talk to strangers" or "It is not what you say, but how you say it" reminding us that people are most injured by personal comment then lofty speeches. Just think, we could have avoided WikiLeaks if only our diplomats had listened to their Mom Mom's!
Time for a hearty breakfast and Mom Mom would say "You are what you eat" Then came the big spoon with a natural dose of Cod Liver Oil, fruit, oatmeal, and balanced brown bag of food for lunch. That is, if you were among the lucky enough to get that attention. How did she know that the turkey with it's natural L-Tryptophane or coffee could calm the hyperactive child, Or that structure, organizational skills, balance of love and discipline and a nutritionally well balanced food regiment were as important to the brain function and productivity for life function, as anything that would later take their place, like drugs and more drugs. She knew "An Apple A Day" was better then a bag of pork rinds, potato chips, and Twinkies. That we could have been spared reality television watching people shed pounds and their dignity because of out of control abusive eating habits. It would have been better to listen to Mom Mom then have government enforce the way we eat and exercise or television graphically remind us of self abuse.
Of course there were the warnings that started with our baby rhyme's like "Rock A-Bye Baby" or "Humpty Dumpty" telling us to be careful where we sit and how we balance our lives. Nothing subtle about the way in which she would scare us into doing things right. "Sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite" how did she know we would have a bed bug epidemic that would sweep the nation and freak out anyone who had to stay in a hotel? Mom Mom knew that we should keep our energy bills low "Turn off the lights and keep the heat low and our air conditioning high" so we don't squander our slowly diminishing resources. She was our first interested and caring environmentalist.
Mom Mom was a banker and a politician who understood that you should only "Spend what you have" and "Save for a rainy day". She seemed to understand that S&L and other banking scandals, Bernie Madoff types, corporate and Wall Street business people who are about their bottom-line before the interest of others, or too many of our government representatives who are interested in spending our money like it is personally theirs. However, she did remind us to give everyone a "Fair shake" but her tolerance levels for rude, prejudice, or disrespectful behavior was limited. She could resort to the every dreaded "I am going to count to three" threat and we would stop at two and three quarters never knowing what she would do at the three count. Mom Mom doesn't bluff! This is a much cheaper and easier way to enforce a lack of rule then the threat of annihilation by bombs or armies. After all, the world according to Mom Mom was one to be respected at every level for and in the interest of future generations and our planet.
Unfortunately, whether it is Nostradamus or Mom Mom grown-ups forget to listen and think they can change the obvious, even while they know the unknown consequence of the number three is every looming. Listen to Mom Mom in your mind's eye and you just might avoid some unnecessary pain and suffering and as Mom Mom warns "Look both ways before you cross the street" and "Look before you leap!"
