My mom is probably one of the strongest people I know and when it comes to aphorisms, she is the queen of homespun wisdom. In fact, I still stand by much of it today. I often flashback to something I had been forewarned about. Then I think “Mom is right again.”

I thought it was worthy of recording these sayings before I get older and forget. Or worse, make the same mistakes… again and again.

Work
1. Don’t take your personal belongings to work. When you quit, you want to exit in one trip with your hands free.
2. Don’t quit your job until you have a new job.
3. Turn off the cable, lose the phone, skip a meal but pay your rent.

Religious
4. God hates ugly.
5. Dios aprieta pero no te ahoga.
Translated: You may be down-and-out but God won’t let you drown.

Parenting
6. Your own kind is always the first to turn on you. Don’t assume you are safe because you are amongst you safety net.
7. Don’t intentionally place yourself in an environment where people are doing something illegal. When the police come, they will take everybody. They don’t separate the good from the bad.

Courtesy
8. Do you live in a barn? Close the door behind you.
9. Chew with your mouth closed, you’re not a horse.
10. Stop eating with your eyes.
Backstory: My brother and I would be competitive and load more food on our plates than we could eat just so the other wouldn’t have it.

Friends
Bonus.Treat your friends like you have a dollar in your pocket and remember if you have a hole in your pocket, you will lose it.
Basically, do right by people.