My mother always was and always will be the biggest influence on my life. She is everything I hope to be: smart, compassionate, faithful, joyful, wise, resilient, and so on and so on.

Her wisdom and guidance shaped me into who I am today and anyone who met her could benefit from her knowledge. Even though my mom has been physically gone for over a year now, I still hear her voice guiding me through life daily.

It’d be a shame if I kept this all to myself so to represent the 27 years I had with her, I wrote 27 things I learned from my mother.

Here are 27 things I learned from my mother:

1. Never show up to a party empty handed.
2. Focus on your strengths and never point out your own flaws.
3. Spend time with people who are different than you.
4. Know the Bible for yourself.
5. Family is your most important asset.
6. Looking good makes you feel good.
7. Never underestimate the power of a thank you note.
8. Education and being educated is invaluable.
9. Thing are temporary but memories last forever.
10. Turn your passion into a career.
11. Good cooks always clean up after themselves.
12. Failing to plan is planning to fail.
13. Speak for those who don’t have a voice.
14. Take care of your skin.
15. Outer beauty is worthless if it doesn’t match what’s on the inside.
16. Trust your intuition.
17. Everything in moderation.
18. Choose your words wisely.
19. There’s always room for an extra seat at the table.
20. Seek wise counsel.
21. Plant some roots.
22. Many hands make light work.
23. Don’t take no for an answer.
24. Leave things better than you found them. 
25. If you’ve got too much to do, make a list and cross one thing off at a time.
26. It’s okay to make mistakes if you learn from them.
27. Life is unexpected so enjoy every moment.

There is so much more I could write about my mom and our experiences together but just writing this was extremely emotional. I miss my mom everyday but am thankful that I had the best of the best for 27 years.

Maybe one of these will stick with you and you can help carry on her motherly wisdom, too.

What’s the best piece of advice you got from a motherly figure in your life? Let me know in the comments below!