Here is a collection of wisdom and advice that we have received from our mothers. Thanks for sending in your submissions!

I was raised by my grandmother for the first 10 yrs. of my life. My father moved to Canada in '58. 

Grandma was a Christian woman of few words. I must have watched her do things to remember what I'm going to say: 

My grandmother was always supportive of her family. In addition to looking after me 24/7 she also looked after my cousin during the day. After the war - no one could afford day care.  

Families looked after each other the best they could. In time I learned that is another lesson of the times. 

Grandma always went the extra mile. No matter how tired she was, she cooked, she cleaned. Wash day was a huge effort. In galvanized tubs with a wash board. 

Whites got boiled in a huge concrete boiler which had to be fired up at 5:am in the morning. We lived in a row house. Each unit got the laundry room for 1 day a week. Laundry was done first. Laundry was hung outside on wash lines. On rainy days some got hung in the utility Rm. In the end of the day when there was still laundry to be hung, they got hung in the laundry room over night. Stoking the heat in the concrete boiler to dry the clothes.  All family members had to bathe in the same tubs that was used for the laundry. That everyone else in the other 5 units used as well. 

 My cousin always came in scruffed up from playing hard, and I used a smaller tub to bathe in. I was allowed to bathe first because. I was cleaner.  Obviously we shared the same water. There was no hot running water. Grandma canned a lot for the winter. Remodelled clothes that my cousin grew out of so they will fit me.

My father did not provide grandma with funds to look after me. She kept us going on a very small pension. Grandpa died early of cancer. Grandma never worked outside the home. There was no $ for new clothes. Grandma sewed 2 dresses for school and 1 for Sunday church ea. year - when needed. Grandma always looked at clearance fabrics. My dresses never had any pretty patterns. She would alter my dresses as needed before spending $ to sew new ones.  

The school allowed girls to wear pants under dresses in the Winter. They were the remodeled one's from my cousin. One couldn't really tell if they were boys pants. I don't think anyone cared. I also wore them after school, playing outside. Grandma sewed the fly up. They kept me warm. All was good.

I don't recall anyone making fun of me. So it didn't bother me.  

In Germany we had no TV so I was never influenced by what was avail. in fashion. We lived in a poor area, so I didn't see others wear high-end clothing. Other girls did have nicer shoes and patterned dresses. I noticed that but it didn't bother me. Probably because. I was content in my heart.  Just like it doesn't bother me today. That most people I know have larger & better homes, are dressed better than I, have better & newer vehicles, etc.. I'm just as content today, with my 15 Yr. old Toyota Echo as an example. For it is all I need. I praise God for guiding me to it. 

As a young mother I learned to be frugal. Which I learned from my grandmother. I bought most of the family clothes at thrift shops. Even today I will only buy new if I get a good sale or there are personal items I need. Gone are the days where I darn my husband’s work socks. But in those early family days - I did. To make something stretch a bit further like grandma would do.

I re-invented leftovers into new meals, so my family wouldn't be bored with the same old. I too did some canning and sewing. I stopped sewing when my kids out right refused to wear what I sewed, and when I realized I could buy stuff cheaper at thrift stores.

I'm glad that I was able to pass on to my kids what I learned by watching grandma, and what my step-moms along the way taught me. They are doing fine. I have every confidence that they will make it through life. 

My grandmother, put the crumbs from the table everyday on the window sill for the birds. There was a small bowl of water on the ground for the birds. She obviously loved birds.  

In the Summer when I needed sandals -grandpa would cut open the front of shoes, that I grew out of - they became my Summer sandals. 

Maybe that is why I don't pay a lot of attention to the latest trends in fashion - it doesn't matter in the scheme of things. I honestly feel she taught me something in that. 

Grandma was getting too old to teach me homemaking skills - but she taught me so much more, by modeling who she was as a Christian woman. 

She was the heart and soul of the family.  My grandma and mother. Bless her heart. 

I learned early on in life to Re-use, Re-cycle, Re-purpose, Re-invent something - it's not new to me. My grandma taught me that - for that was her great skill. To make something out of little. She made it work. 

As well as the neighbourhood I lived in. Kids went to the dump to find bicycle parts to build our own bikes, or scooters. To build tree houses in the nearby forest.

We lived on the out skirt of the city in a coal mining district. The men were all coal miners. How we enjoyed finding those treasures at the dump. Often picking up old bikes and rebuilding them.

Those were the 50's when Germany was focused on rebuilding the nation after the war. Germany was poor. It took Germany 20 yrs. to do that. 

Hence there was a lot of immigration from Germany to Canada in the 50's & 60's.  

I learned to ask "do I really need what I want? I learned to make the dollar stretch.  Much, much later, when there were no more kids in the nest, I did treat myself to things I liked. In my later adult life I picked up the hobby of collecting dolls. Which wouldn't surprise anyone who knew my story. It was once again hard for me to part with my collection when I had to seize down. All that is left of my collection are but a few of my small dolls. I still like how they smile back. I still like their presence in my life.  

When I first lived in my father’s house and with a step mother, I learned quickly that girls learned to cook, sew, and help clean the house. 

I was still playing with dolls at 10. Grandma didn't make me do these things. Sewing dresses for my dolls didn't count. 

I came home from school one day and all my dolls & teddy's, dresses I had sewn for them, all were gone. And a china tea set for playing with my dolls.

What a huge loss for me as a young girl. They were my steadfast family. They always were, where I was. Coming from a broken home they were my constant - smiling back at me. It felt reassuring. 

In all fairness to my first step-mom. She came from a very strict family background. The way she handled me, with the dolls, is the way her parents would have handled the situation. She had no children of her own - which didn't help. All of a sudden she had 2 kids aging from 6 -10. Kids she didn't know. 

I did learn all the homemaking skills I needed to learn. As a young mother I was grateful for her teachings. Her manner was never loving or caring. 

That also was not learned in her parental home. 

Father's subsequent marriages prooved that none of my step-mothers loved me as my grandma did - the woman with few words. 

I don't recall my grandma ever hugging me or verbalize how much she loved me. To whomever she spoke with I often heard her say “My Doris”. Those words said it all. 

I knew who loved me - I knew where I belonged.

My father left to go to Canada in 1958 and conveniently forgot he had 2 kids. My 4 year younger sister grew up in a convent. That was to be a whole new set of issues.

Getting to know a sister I rarely seen. She didn't look like me or dad. I don't recall an image of our real mother - maybe she looked like mom? 

I decided to love her because she is the only sister I had. God blessed me even then to be able to live with grandma. Our family life with father was never easy, often abusive.  

My sister was often the brunt of our step mother's anger. I felt helpless in defending my sister. I finally ran away from home. From the fry pan into the fire. 

My sister couldn't stand it at home any longer because with me not there, things got worse for her. Less than a year later she ran away from home. She ended up living a life on the streets. I lost track of her whereabouts. We both lived a life of survival. The first man that was relatively fair to us we married. We had our children by them. We did the best we could. As years passed we both lived a better life. Not ideal but manageable.

Thanks to my grandma I learned that whatever life throws at me - I can manage. I keep building my life. I can make something out of little. She taught me to go the extra mile. Do all I can do. I learned to put myself on the back burner so my family can have. She taught me so much by modeling who she was. 

She was my grandma and my mom. My father's subsequent marriages prooved that none of my step-mothers loved me as my grandmother did - the woman with few words. Grandma was love in action. I hope to see her in heaven again because I didn't have a chance to tell her how much I love her - then - today - and always. Happy Mother’s Day Grandma.