Lots of space on this blog has been devoted to the subject of mothering , so I thought I would write a little something to the daughters, particularly daughters who are still living at home, who might be reading.

The problem of writing to daughters about their duties toward their mothers is that the mothers might read this and become critical or discontent. This article is not for the mothers to rub their daughters’ collective noses in. In other words, this is a word of encouragement to daughters, not a set up to stumble moms. Given that little word of caution, here are a few suggestions to daughters.

First of all, the obvious: Remember that your mother is a lot like you. Not only is she a woman, like you are, she is also a daughter. So take note of how she treats or speaks of or remembers her own mother.  Remember, it’s not just your mom speaking; it’s another daughter speaking to you about her mom. Sometimes we let position (mother, daughter) or age difference create distance between us. But the mother-daughter relationship is one of the closest, so we should do all we can to keep it healthy and strong.

Mom is your role model, so pay attention. What does she do well? Imitate her. Read More

This is a new little project – writing things to my daughters to have them read so we can discuss it. I thought I would share a few of them.

Dear Girls,

Have you ever been walking along the sidewalk and for some reason – you almost don’t know how you did it – you almost wipe out? Maybe you don’t fall down all the way, but you can end up staggering around or looking crazy for a minute. Everyone has done this at some time or another, and people have many different ways of handling it when it happens to them.  Read More