Life lessons from my mother...

I learned a lot from my mother. She taught me to sew. She taught me to cook. She told me that you don't need lots of friends, just a few close ones. She told me that one day my sisters would be my best friends.

And she told me if it ain't yours, don't touch it. By this she meant don't pick flowers outside our own garden, don't take plastic buckets that we'd find at the beach... things like that. I find though, that later in life in the absence of flowers and buckets, this rule still applies.

For example, one of Boyfriend's friends had his car broken into a few months ago... it cost him a lot of money and time to get fixed what they broke while trying to break in. When Boyfriend found out, he said, "People can't see someone else with anything and just leave it alone."

More recently, and on a more personal level, I've had some trouble with a girl Boyfriend used to date crossing one too many boundaries into what I would (if I were a more possessive person) call my territory. Granted, she doesn't actually know about me, but they broke up a long time ago. Here's the thing:

Is he yours?
No?
Then don't pick flowers outside of your own garden.

Just a life lesson, courtesy of my mother.

Disclaimer: Yes, I understand that this doesn't completely make sense... if you didn't pick from other gardens no one would be in a relationship. Well, it made sense in my head when I was writing it. What can I say, love scrambles your brains. If you don't like it, give me a better metaphor.