Yesterday I church-ladied everyone and railed against alcohol. Fortunately for folks like me in the South, which must be capitalized, we can invent verbs such as the one in the first sentence, as often that’s what fits best, and we’re known for being characters anyway.

My bandwagon apparently slid through Los Angeles as Paris Hilton, not usually known for siding with middle-aged, overly opinionated stuffy Southern broads, chimed in with her “Don’t drink and drive,” advice for the Fourth of July. I’d be flattered if it weren’t such a common theme and were hers not court ordered.

Y’all might have read my essay on the subject, my own children have to listen to volumes of my opinions as I scamper through their short years here with me, trying to cover every single base, then being greatly relieved to have them hang around long past age 18, soaking up more of my quirkiness.

I also admire those daring young’uns of mine who make major goofs yet still come to me about it, knowing I’ll either be outraged or saddened, but still their mama, still with the next plan. I admire them for learning from their mistakes when they do, and I want to bang my head on my non-granite kitchen counter when they repeat their faux pas over and over again, not taking any lesson to heart.

I allow mistakes because, duh, I make mistakes. When I majorly goof, I explain my blunder to the kids. My gaffe, or my inaccuracy, or maybe a lapse in good judgement is also a learning moment for us all. I give them the freedom to fail as well since failure is where so many goals are realigned.

Heckfire, I wasn’t married long enough either time to truly learn what the man wanted for lunch, nor was I overly concerned. I was much younger then, of course, but the eye-opening realization of that kind of commitment has kept me not dating now for years. Well that and the 39 children who do not weigh me down at all, the ‘mother commitment’ makes way more sense to me.

I’ve found my strength, my ability in the parenting arena, and I’m not bad in garden food production either. Marriage however buffaloed me.

So I use my strengths to their best ability and teach that to my children. Find what you’re good at, find what you love, pursue your passions, pay your bills, take care of your families, find a challenge and make us proud of you in whatever you do.