Serving Mom, All Year Long

If you’ve been following along with me for some time now, you already know I think my mom is Pamtastic! I’ve written about her a few times and even helped name her cheesecake company: Pamtastic Cheesecakes. PS: They’re the best bite of cheesecake you’ll ever take, and I’m not saying that because she’s my mom. It’s a fact.

With Mother’s Day coming up this weekend, I naturally began to think about my mom. I’ve admired her for years, as she’s been a working mom nearly my entire life. My mom’s broken glass ceilings and climbed the corporate ladder, landing her in top roles at companies in a male-dominated industry. She’s basically a badass!

In this week’s Straight Talk, I asked my mom to write a guest article, and she pumped out a genuine piece on customer service. Naturally, she took to writing about serving others because that’s what moms do best: unselfishly serve others’ needs first. It starts from the womb, and, from what I’ve experienced, never ends.

Moms are definitely an underserved population. On this Mother’s Day, I thought we should all recognize how to better serve our moms all year long.

Three tiny ways to provide the best service for your mom (and pretty much anyone):

1. Time. The one thing your Mom will never get tired of is time with you. I know we all get busy, and calendars are bursting at the seams, but the one thing I know for certain is your choices determine your amount of time, not your activities. For some of you, learning the word no and creating boundaries are the best way to earn back time. For others, it’s compromising more and leaning into what the important people in your life want to do instead of selfishly serving your own needs. It’s a balance and a dance but one you can learn to do effectively if you maximize your time and choose wisely where you invest it. Do you really need to be watching that reality TV show, or could you shift that time to having genuine connection with someone else? This Mother’s Day, I implore you to make the choice to spend more time (time block it, if you must) with your mom if you are lucky enough to still have her around. You can’t get back time, but you can choose to use it more wisely moving forward. I think your Mom would appreciate you spending it on her; it’s better than any gift money could buy.
2. Thank You. Simple. Clear. Be sure to enunciate! One of the best ways to serve your mom is to thank her for all she does or has done for you. Gratitude is sometimes assumed, especially with moms or other close family members, yet they’re the ones we’re probably most thankful for. Be purposeful in your gratitude, and communicate “thank you” to the ones who deserve it most. These two words will mean just as much as “I love you” to your underserved mom.    
3. Talk Less. Listen More. This is definitely one I need to work on the most. With my mom, I tend to vent and rant and spill many beans (never coffee beans!) more than with any other person! While my Mom is my greatest listener, encourager, and cheerleader, she has her own things I’m sure she’d like to say. Press mute on your own remote, and allow your mom to talk more so you can listen and absorb her wisdom and knowledge. Be intentional about asking her questions and getting her talking about her day, what’s new in her life, and how you can help her achieve her goals. Moms are a great support system, but that doesn’t mean they don’t need support in return. The more you listen to your mom talk about anything and everything, the more you’ll learn she’s quite the amazing person.

Three tiny steps of service that will make a lasting impression and impact. If you want to serve others in a greater capacity, implement any of these three things, and I promise not only will your mom be proud of you, whomever the person on the receiving end is will take notice and feel Pamtastic!

Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook on Google+