and another thing

At a gathering of old friends the question was posed: What was something someone told you that remember as words of wisdom? On the spot, that was tough for some. Some though were able to identify a phrase or a statement and share right away. Two I remember: "never take your eye off the ball".... and "do not look back and regret" Both of those were statements made by dads to their sons. Knowing the two gents as I do I thought how lovely that their dads were able to offer what I thought were real words of wisdom to these two particular men. It actually almost made me cry to think of those two fathers whom I know are now deceased. I made myself cry just by thinking and writing about them. Anyway, my father also said, "keep your eye on the ball" which is a great one! He actually said a lot of things like that as he taught me how to use tools, hammer a nail, hit a baseball., change a tire.. I was the oldest of four girls and then a boy entered our family. So Daddy taught me the stuff dads know how to do, since I was his first. My mother taught me about domestic tasks: "always pre-shrink fabric before you sew with it", "always wash anything raw chicken touches", "wash your sheets once a week" "eight inches is the span between your thumb and your middle finger"... There was a lot of unspoken stuff ... I knew that clean fingernails were a good thing. Back to the words of wisdom. I remember my mother saying, "No one chooses to be unhappy." "They just don't know any better." "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all." My father said, "Don't try to teach your grandmother how to suck eggs" which kind of left me wondering... I'm remembering some things they said that didn't ring true as wisdom, but that's for another blog and possibly due to the generational difference? Name words of wisdom that someone shared with you. Please?