Mother Wit on Mother’s Day
6th May 2024 · 0 Comments
May 12 is fast approaching. What are you planning for Mother’s Day?
Will you be dining out or cooking a seven-course meal for the mothers in your life? Draping her in diamonds and designer finery? Giving her a ticket to a far-off land? Taking Mom on a road trip? There are so many ways to say thank you to the mothers in your life for raising you.
Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate and honor the diverse array of women who become birth mothers, adoptive mothers, grandmothers taking on the role of mothers, and men who fulfill the roles of both father and mother. It’s a day to recognize and appreciate the unique journeys of all these individuals.
The role of a mother demands resiliency, steadfastness, sacrifice, love, caring, attentiveness, nurturing and protection of those who emerge from a woman’s womb. Providing offspring with food, shelter, clothing and transportation is second nature for mothers.
But guess what the most lasting, substantive, cherished and sometimes overlooked gift is? Mother Wit!
“Mother Wit” is considered obsolete, but The Louisiana Weekly is reviving it to reexamine its history and meaning and offer our interpretation with examples from women we’ve polled for this opinion piece.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest known use of the noun Mother Wit was in Middle English (1150-1500).
Collins English Dictionary quotes Webster’s New World College Dictionary’s definition of “Mother Wit” in American English as a noun that means natural or practical intelligence, wit, or sense. In British English, it means native practical intelligence or common sense. Synonyms of “Mother Wit” include common sense, brains, smarts, and judgment.
What’s interesting about those definitions is that neither defines why “mother” is conjoined with the word “wit.”
Dictionary.com’s definition focuses on the word “mother” but still misses the mark: “In Mother Wit, the word mother means ‘innate, inborn.’”
If we’re being honest, it’s common sense to deduce that men wrote those definitions and seemingly refused to credit women as the source of “Mother Wit,” as in dispensing wit akin to common sense, judgment, brains, and practical intelligence.
While the expression may be obsolete, many of today’s women can and do recall and even live by the “Mother Wit” their mothers and grandmothers imparted to them.
The Louisiana Weekly interviewed several women to gather the memorable “Mother Wit” wisdom given to them by their mothers and grandmothers.
Their “Mother Wit” gems honor mothers and grandmothers whose responsibilities include infusing their charges with common sense, practical intelligence and lessons learned and passed down through generations.
We hope The Louisiana Weekly readers embrace these sage offerings, some of which may be familiar, and pass them on to their children and grandchildren with the “Mother Wit” they inherited.
Here is wisdom:
“Never be afraid to ask. If you want something, ask. The only thing they can tell you is no. If the answer is no, you’re back in the same place you were before. If yes, you’ve got what you want. “Don’t be shy; never be scared.” “Never doubt yourself.” “Be careful.”
“Preparation, Preparation, Preparation. Pray and meditate on Psalm 23.” “Love one another. God Bless The Child who’s got his own.” “Never fight with your family. Always back them up.” “Be generous and kind on every occasion.” “Never be guilty of the sin of ingratitude.” “Be careful how you treat people on your way up because you may meet them on your way down.”
“It’s never too late to live your dreams.” “You have to set boundaries.” “You have to choose friends carefully. Everybody is not your friend.” “Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free.”
“Kissing will lead to sex.” “Always look better for your husband than anyone else.” “Surviving is not the same as living.” “Sympathy is in the dictionary between shit and syphilis, and that’s the only place you’re going to find it.” “Your siblings know your story and will be with you forever. They will know you inside out and love you anyway.”
“Don’t go where you’re not wanted.” “Every dog has his day, and some have two.” “Nobody wants you when you’re down, but everyone wants you around when you’re doing good.” “I taught you to be kind, not stupid.”
“I don’t need any help to do bad. I can do bad all by myself.” “The grass always looks greener on the other side.” “Watch out for users.” “Always have some money with you, even if it’s just a quarter. Never go anywhere without money.”
Do yourselves a favor. If your mother and grandmother are still here, ask them about the wisdom handed down to them and write their “Mother Wit” down.
Start a family tradition. Mother’s Day is excellent for interviewing mothers, grandmothers, and other family members about the family’s history and the wisdom they hold in their hearts and minds.
Happy Mother’s Day and Mother’s Wit to all!
This article originally published in the May 6, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
