mom to mom question

To answer Missy: the question is "What is the best parenting advice you ever received?"

My answer? I honestly can't remember. But I can guarantee you who gave it to me.

Georgia's Mom is the one I call at naptime, when nobody is sleeping and I can't decide how long to leave them talking in their beds. Or when the baby is pulling on his ear but acting fine, and should I take him in? She's my go to girl, and even if I make a different decision than what she suggests (though I almost never do), I always feel a little more confident and a little less ca-razy when I hang up the phone. Georgia's Mom - who paints tapestries for her children's rooms, bakes her own birthday cakes, runs 10K's for fun, and spent last September in Africa, learning how to best serve the Church. Georgia's Mom, whose little girl was the very first 15-minute-old baby I ever held - an experience I'll never forget. Georgia's Mom is articulate and compassionate and cares as much about her children having a sense of justice as she does about their obedience. And - here is the most important part - has never once been my measuring stick. There is no suggestion of judgment or competition in parenting, and that is huge. We want the same things for our children - in life and in the moment - and her children are a little older than mine, so I take every opportunity to learn from her experience.

So I can't remember the best advice I've been given, but here's the best parenting advice I can give someone else: in parenting, choose wisely who you listen to. It makes all the difference.