You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned...

The most selfish one letter word is I. - Avoid it.
The most satisfying two-letter word is We. - Use it.
The most poisonous three-letter word is Ego. - Kill it.
The most used four-letter word is Love. - Value it.
The most pleasing five-letter word is Smile. - Keep it.
The fastest spreading six-letter word is Rumour. - Ignore it.
The hardest working seven-letter word is Success. - Achieve it.
The most enviable eight-letter word is Jealousy. - Distance it.
The most powerful nine-letter word is Knowledge. - Acquire it.
The most essential ten-letter word is Confidence. - Trust it.

This is for those of you who are mothers and those of you who have mothers.

I loved you enough. Someday when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will tell them.

I loved you enough. . .to ask where you were going, with whom, and what time you would be home.

I loved you enough. . . to insist that you save your money and buy a bike for yourself even though we could afford to buy one for you.

I loved you enough. . . to be silent and let you discover that your new best friend was a creep.

I loved you enough. . . to make you go pay for the bubble gum you had taken and tell the clerk, "I stole this yesterday and want to pay for it".

I loved you enough. . . to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.

I loved you enough... to let you see anger, disappointment and tears in my eyes. Children must learn that their parents aren't perfect.

I loved you enough. . . to let you assume the responsibility for your actions even when the penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

But most of all, I loved you enough. . . to Say NO when I knew you would hate me for it.

Those were the most difficult battles of all. I am glad I won them, because in the end, you won, too.

And someday when your children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the meanest mother in the whole world.

While other kids ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast. When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches. And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was different from what other kids had, too.

Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She had to know who our friends were, and what we were doing with them. She insisted that if we said we would be gone for an hour, we would be gone only an hour or less.

We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work. We had to wash the dishes, make the beds, learn to cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.

She always insisted on us telling the truth the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time we were teenagers, she could read our minds.

Then, life was really tough! Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn when they drove up. They had to come up to the door so she could meet them.

While everyone else could date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16.

Because of our mother we missed out on lots of things other kids experienced. None of us have ever been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.

Now that we have left home, we are all educated, honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean parents just like Mom was.

I think that is what's wrong with the world today. It just doesn't have enough mean moms.