You Taught Me

You taught me to be strong;
You taught me to be brave.
You taught me to persevere,
Not give up easily and cave.

You taught me to be honest;
You taught me to be humble.
You taught me that my failures
Aren't a reason for myself to crumble.

You taught me to be kind;
You taught me empathy.
You taught me compassion
And to think of others besides me.

You taught me to be selfless;
You taught me to be giving.
You taught me to share and be generous,
Not greedy nor covetous in my way of living.

You taught me to be thankful;
You taught me to appreciate.
You taught me money isn't everything,
That integrity's worth more to cultivate.

You taught me to be sincere;
You taught me to be real.
You taught me by doing right,
My self worth no one can ever steal.

You taught me to use my voice;
You taught me up, to speak,
You taught me to defend against wrongs,
To protect the defenseless and the weak.

You taught me to be courteous;
You taught me to be polite.
You taught me "Please" and "Thank you"
Are mannerly and are always right.

You taught me to keep my word;
You taught me to have a backbone.
You taught me to have principles
To stand by, to uphold and own.

You taught me to listen;
You taught me to observe.
You taught me to, about my enemy,
Hold some knowledge in reserve.

You taught me to do my best;
You taught me to my best, be.
You taught me how human values
Will make a much better me.

You taught me to be modest;
You taught me to be gracious.
You taught me how to be a lady
And to not be ostentatious.

You taught me to respect others;
You taught me to have self respect.
You taught me not to be a blind follower
And to have the guts to wrongs, object.

You taught me to defend myself;
You taught me to boundaries, make.
You taught me not to take advantage
Or the same, let others of me, take.

You taught me to apologise;
You taught me to my mistakes, admit.
You taught me a lesson can't be learned,
If to acknowledge, I cannot own up to it.

You taught me not to hate;
You taught me to forgive.
You taught me to cultivate a conscience
Without guilt and peaceful I will live.

You taught me about self esteem and worth;
You taught me how to obtain these and own.
You taught me my behaviour reinforced these
Not when to impress others but when I am alone.

You taught me my own joy includes others', too; 
You taught me little things do matter the most.
You taught me to laugh heartily from the belly,
To laugh at myself and a sense of humour, host.

You taught me how to be a friend;
You taught me how to Love.
You taught me all the things I'd need
To have pride in myself I'd be worthy of.

You taught me to have faith;
You taught me to have hope.
You taught me how to pray
And God will always help me cope.

You taught me Mom, all these things,
As behind your words you stood,
By how you lived your daily life,
And illustrating the essence of being good.

Written by Artsieladie/Sharon Donnelly
©2018-05-13 01:29:00 (EDT)
All rights reserved.

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FJ Thomas

Date: 5/15/2018 5:39:00 PM

What a wonderful wonderful connection you must have with your mother Artsie. I didn't really have a mother and so never understood people's bond with their own. To be honest with you I never missed or wished I had it because I didn't grow up with it. But when I read this it makes me hope and pray that this is what my daughters feel about me. This is so very loving Artsie.