1. I know you’re more worried about what’s going on at school right now than spending time with your family, but one day, you’ll enjoy being with your Mom so much you’ll take road trips to some really pretty places together.
(1a. Pay more attention to the things she writes to you in those cards she leaves on your bed.)
2. When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Take half the clothes and twice the money. (Heller)
3. Start each day by looking up. It’ll widen your horizon.
4. The human spirit needs places where nature hasn’t been rearranged by the hand of man. Take more walks in the woods!
5. You know all that weird “old stuff” your Mom thinks is so cool right now? (screen doors, stone chimneys, old windows) You’ll be crazy about it all one day, too.
(5a. You’ll love that kind of stuff so much you’ll even start a blog about it.) (PS- I know you don’t know what a blog is right now, but trust me, you’ll be crazy about those too one day.)
6. Those architectural drawings your Mom works on in her office may not intrigue you now, but one day, you’ll be passionate about drawing rooms to scale for people too. Ask her questions about what she’s working on and take notes!
7. This may be hard to believe, but weeding the garden isn’t going to kill you.
(7a. one day, you’ll wish you had enough time, talent and space to grow all the amazing things your Mom does!)
8. Life is like riding a bicycle – in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. (Einstein) Follow your heart and fight for your dreams!
9. Riding bike might not seem like a very “cool” thing to do right now, but one day you’ll see a grass green Schwinn cruiser that’ll take your breath away.
10. Buy a bike now and ride it whenever you can! There are awesome bike trails all over the place, just ask your Mom.
11. In late September, spend less time looking at your cell phone (again, that will make sense later in life), and more time looking at the trees explode with color.
(PS- You aren’t going to meet and marry Jon Knight from NKOTB, but don’t worry- there’s another music man out there whose heart has your name written all over it.)
12. Pay more attention in photography class. There’s a road from the eye to the heart that doesn’t go through the intellect (Chesterton) and one day you’ll slam on the brakes to take pictures of things you don’t even notice are beautiful right now.
13. Ask your Mom to teach you how to cook. If you don’t take the time to learn how to do it now, you’ll be eating cereal, sandwiches and Stouffer’s when you’re 37. I’m not kidding.
14. Cherish the sky-blue painted wood floor in your bedroom. One day, you’ll want to paint the wood floors in your own home, but you’ll be too scared to do it!
15. Do not, I repeat, do not try to use a fire escape ladder to sneak out your second floor bedroom window this year. You will regret it. I promise.
16. Being grounded isn’t the worst thing in the world. When you get older, you’ll actually enjoy sitting still.
17. I hate to break it to you, but you will always be afraid of the dark. Invest in a good nightlight and take it with you wherever you go!
18. The three C’s of life are choices, chances, and changes. You’ve gotta make a choice to take a chance in order to change. (unknown)
(18a. The 4th C should be for Chex mix. Not only will you carry a bag of it wherever you go when you’re 37 years old, but in a pinch, you’ll also use it to king your checkers on one of the road trips you take with your Mom that year.)
19. Someone is totally right about that whole water thing. Sweat, tears, and the sea can cure anything.
20. At different points throughout your adult life, your inner fire will go out. Don’t worry. Spend time with people who can rekindle your inner spirit and don’t ever forget to tell them how much they mean to you.
21. When it comes to solving problems, dig at the roots. Don’t just hack at the leaves. (D’Angelo)
22. Sometimes, the most important thing in a whole day is the rest you take between two deep breaths. (Hillesum)
23. You might not ever figure out exactly what you want to be when you grow up, but that’s okay.
Your parents are totally cool with your artsy-fartsyness and life is more about the journey than the destination anyway.
24. Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. (D’Angelo)
25. Be like the color yellow as much as possible. Sunny, optimistic and cheerful!
26. Read more books. Someday you’ll want to write one.
27. Blog about your road trips with your Mom and include lots of pictures so you can relive the memories you shared with her for years to come.
Some of them will instantly transport you back to the day Mother Nature seemed to be celebrating her very presence by showering her with crunchy “leaf confetti” every time the wind blew extra hard. (Remember how she had to guard her coffee from the celebration!)
Some of them will bring back memories of exploring interesting places, sipping wine out of tiny juice glasses, and making up your own rules because neither of you knew how to really play…
And fortunately, some of them will be there for you to witness over and over again…
Carmella
Moms are the best…. it’s my prayer that my own children feel about me the same way I feel about my mom and you feel about yours. What a wonderful post to share….I think I’ll go call my momma now 🙂
Outfit31
So beautiful! With age comes wisdom! Even though, everyone thinks, at 17, they know EVERYTHING!!!
Shaunna
oh so lovely, my friend. can’t wait to hear all about it. I hope this trip has been so very rejuvenating for you…you deserve it!
xoxoxo
shaunna
Erin Gonzalez
This brought tears to my eyes. How much I didn’t appreciate when I was 17! And to think that sometimes the highlight of my day may not be my kids or my husband, but the two hours I get to spend with my mom learning to sew button holes on my daughter’s new pajamas. Life is too short.
heatherly
you are so very lucky to have the relationship with your mother like you do.
Steph @ BirdHouse
Beautiful post! I love the sentiment and the photos. What an amazing thing to be able to do with your mom.
Shawn
Looks like you and your pretty Mom had a wonderful time Layla, enjoy every minute!! My Mom passed away 6 years ago today…..loved reading your post.
Katie B
So lovely! This post made my day!
Ann Flora
Beautiful. You teared me up just a little.
Susana of Montessori Candy
Oh my gooodness! I loved this post Layla! Thank you for sharing with us. It was super sweet, inspirational too! Love hearing from you guys! Enjoy your mama while you have her near!
Rachel
absolutely wonderful layla!! the pictures, the story, the advise…thank you so much for sharing!
Karen
Beautiful. The words. The photos. The quotes. Your heart…
Ellen
Loved that. Thank you.
Jeanie
That sounds lovely. I’m not too much older than 17, so I’m really taking your words to heart. Your mother sounds a lot like the kind of mother I want to be someday. Thank you for sharing and take care.
Dorothy Brown
Goodness. This brought tears to my eyes. The photos are gorgeous, and the accompanying text is wonderful. It doesn’t hurt that I lived in Wisconsin until I graduated from college and that my late mother was convinced there was nowhere on earth as wonderful as her beloved state! It makes me wish I could spend more days with her as you have with your own mother. I’m so glad you appreciate it all. Thank you.
tracyo
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this post. I had to choke back the tears. Just beautiful Layla!! You and your mom are very lucky people to have each other. I have a wonderful relationship with my mom who is now in a nursing home.
Kim
Your post is beautiful. It makes me sad remembering the fun and crazy things that my mom and I used to do together, made me miss her more. But, also makes me look foward to all the memories I am going to make with my daughter.
Thank You!
April
I loved this! Thanks for sharing and it is all so true. I think I’ll share with my 15 year old cousin now 🙂
Gabby
If we had only known! I agree, and my husband is sitting here depressed after I showed him the camp. He said we should have dreamed bigger!
robin allen
Your mom ROCKS>… I want to lay on her bed in the tent, climb into the tree house, eat chex mix, view the trees, leaves and sunsets with her, I am a wee bit older than your mom, I MISS my mom she had been in heaven for nearly 11 yrs….what a treasure this trip would have been for us….it will truly become one of your most CHERISHED memories….as you age you my dear, will come to understand her love for you even more….these are the good times and make life just more fun….LOVE her….daily….I love her and don’t even know her….have a wonderful time with your mom…..
Geri
Hi Layla.
I was wondering where you were after you got back from vacation with your mom. I am glad I found out you went to heaven and back and shared it with us all.
I was not blessed with a relationship with my mother, but I had the most loving awesome Grammy and auntie. all I ever wanted was my kiddies to feel about me the way you feel about your mom all the time. I am blessed and I thank God for my kiddies loving me and even better liking me and calling me their friend. You made us all smile and cry. You made your mom’s heart fill to the brim with love and joy. She is so proud of the that 17 year old girl then and now. Thank you for that from the heart post.
jennifer
LOVE this post Layla! It was perfect and amazing! Im going to have to find a way to put your 3 C’s on paper some way some how….It needs to be hung up all over my house!!
Morag
Layla;
I am totally hooked on your blog. I just found your site this past July and since then have gone back and read every post you and your wonderful husband have ever done. Every morning when I turn on my computer your blog is my first and often my only stop. I have been lost this past week without your posts, but this one was well worth the wait. FANTASTIC! You are an inspiration on so many levels. I wish you luck with all your endeavors, but please don’t stop posting.
Jessica
Absolutly beautiful! Thank you for sharing this experience with your mother. I am 34 years old and my mother is my best friend. We don’t live near each other, but she is actually coming to see me this weekend for my birthday. I have been married for 15 years and we have 5 children! I pray that one day my children feel the same about me. I would love to plan a vacation with my mother. That is a wonderful idea! Again, thanks for posting this part of your lifes journey for all of us.
Deneen
Ok you got me! Tears feel because of the sweet genuine words you used. I hope my daughter will be looking back at all the special times we have had together and cherish them like that. I never met your mom but she must be a special lady because I met you and you give out a spark! Keep it glowing.
erin
This is lovely.
Linda
Oh Layla! This must be your best blog ever! Beautiful pictures, beautiful sentiments, beautiful you!
Thanks!!!
Helen
Awesome post. Loved it. Beautiful pictures, Fantastic trip with mum. To live where you live!! The scenery takes my breath away.
Jil
Aw, Layla. This is so beautiful. Thank you so much for touching our hearts and lives. I think all of our 17 year old selves appreciate this sage advice. 🙂 <3
Denise V.
Awesome post. Your blog blows me away.
Roxanna
What a lovely post. Such a blessing to be able to share this time with your mother and wonderful memories to cherish.
Alicia
Layla,
I’m 25 and I’ve been following your blog for a long time now, but I’ve never commented until now.
Your posts always make me feel like I’m coming up for air, out of the thickness of how life is… allowing me to see how it could be.
This post especially speaks to me, as 17 was a major turning point in my life. Reading about your relationship with your mother makes me yearn for one just like it. I can tell that your future children will be blessed to have parents like you and Kevin. It makes me wish that I’d had an opportunity to be included in a loving family, like yours, after my parents passed away. Thank you for sharing your adventures with all of us; and for sharing your home with children who could truly use a love as bright as yours.
Julie B. [Holland]
Layla, just loved this post and the all the photos. I just lost my Mom in June, so this post meant alot to me, thanks so much for sharing all your thoughts with us.
There is always, always, ALWAYS, something to be thankful for. ………….. Julie 🙂
Jyoti
What a beautiful post, Layla! I wish you and your mum have many more such road trips and I wish God lets you again see the beauty in them
Shari Sunday
The pictures are really beautiful. I wanted to step inside each of them. And your mother is really beautiful, too. She looks very much like a good friend of mine who lives in a lakeside cabin in Kentucky and makes handmade soap. We don’t get that kind of fall in Florida and something in me actually craves it. I really enjoyed this post.
Shari Sunday
Layla, I think I love your decorating eye so much because it speaks to the part of me that loves Fall and home so much. Something in me says, “Yes, that is how that room should look!” I have so enjoyed watching the success of your blog and the life that you and Kavin are building.
Anna-Ruth Murphy
Thanks for such a beautiful & well written post! Your mom seems like a wise woman…I love her “water” philosophy….
Kylie@StylishSettings
I have read and re-read this blog post. By the time I got to the photo of your mum (mom) sitting on the deck through the flyscreen door I had tears rolling down my face. I need to ring my mum.
Thanks for the gentle reminder to be present and grateful for life.
Cheers Kylie
Layla
That photo gets me every time too, Kylie!!!
I hope you had a nice conversation with your Mum, and thank you for leaving such a sweet comment- I really appreciate it! 😀
Abby K
Layla,
Can I just say that now I know where you get your inspiration and style! This post was amazing! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
Abby
tara Lowry
loved this.
every word of it.
Hillary
Brought tears to my eyes… beautiful and so true! Printing and saving this post! Thank you!
jaxcheryl
Beautiful and so full of wisdom we never seem to learn until we get older. I’m crying, wishing for one more road trip with my 90 yr. old mom, who is now blind and unable to travel. I wish I had enough sense at your age to document those past trips like you did instead of just a few photos. Keep making these memories.
Karen
Layla,
That was so wonderful…both the images and the words of wisdom. My mom passed away about 1 1/2 years ago. Believe me, you are so right on so many of your points. What a treasure to have had this road trip for you and your mom.
Love the tree house!
Karen
Abby
Simply beautiful.
Melanie
Layla~ so beautiful! My mom passed away suddenly in July. It has been so hard. There are some times when I am feeling strong that I can look back special little things we did together and smile…drives in the country…nights out on the town…this trip will be treasured forever. Moms are so special!!!
Joanna
Just beautiful. Amazing thoughts (and gorgeous photos!) to start my day, and what a wonderful tribute to your mother and your sweet time spent together! Thanks for sharing!
foo
best thing I’ve read/seen in ages. Thanks.
Laura
Thanks for the advice! I’ll try to remind my 17 year old self once in awhile of these things!
Amy
Sounds to me like, you have the most amazing mommy! …Just like me!
Ashley Buchanan
This is so true! Thanks for the reminder!
Such a good read this am!