As we get ready to celebrate Mother’s Day, it is the perfect time to reflect on all the great lessons we have learned from our mothers.

Stephanie Bowden, 48, of Humboldt, was always taught by her late mother, Gail Broich, to respect others.

“My mother was not afraid to discipline me if she ever caught me disrespecting anybody. Growing up I never got away with much,” said Bowden. “She always taught me to have the same respect for others that you would want to be shown.”

Along with teaching respect, her mother taught her to always be the bigger person in any situation and to always turn the other cheek.

Alexis Mobley, of Moorland, loves being a mother to her daughter, Charlotte.

“Even when you are showing someone respect and they are not treating you the same,” Bowden said, “she always told us to be the bigger person and walk away because they are not worth your time.”

As she continues to navigate life’s challenges, Bowden takes comfort in knowing her mother’s lessons are always with her and will stay with her family as she teaches her children the same lessons about respect.

Janet Tague, 83, of Manson, had 12 siblings, which means her mother, May Deal, had her hands full. Her siblings included: Lillian, Marguerite (Tootles), Gladys, Charles, Leonard, Herbert, Mae, Barbara, and Wilbur (Sam) who have since passed. Her mother also had two other children who died while they were babies, Mary and Marion. The only living sibling Tague still has is Eddie Deal.

Tague grew up in Fort Dodge near the Pleasant Valley area with her mom, dad, brothers and sisters. Her mom taught her much of what shaped her into the mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother she is today.

Tague’s mother, May, had to work very hard to provide for such a big family. She cooked bread from scratch every day and would always make sure there was food on the table for everyone while baking on their wood-burning cook stove.

Alexis Mobley, right, with her mother Raenae Caquelin.

“We had a big garden at our house, which is one of the ways my mother kept food on the table,” Tague said. “She did lots of canning as well, and even taught me how to, and that is something I still do to this day.”

Her mother also taught her how to sew.

“Any time we would have a hole in our socks she would teach us how to patch them up by using a pop bottle, which is how I learned how to sew.”

Tague also remembers how her mother would always make food for the drifters who came through.

“My mother would always make sure to have a sandwich for anyone who knocked on our door,” Tague said. “Sometimes they would eat on our back steps, but others would take the food and go.”

Janet Tague

Watching her mom taught her how to be selfless and a hard worker even when they didn’t have a lot.

“My mother was a very good person who would do anything for anybody,” Tague said.

Tague has three children, eight grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren, with two more on the way this fall. She said she will continue to spread her knowledge and the lessons she learned from her mother to her family as she is close with all of them.

Ever since Alexis Mobley, 27, was a little girl, all she ever wanted was to be a mom, and she said she is so blessed that she gets to be a mother to her little girl.

“Being a mother is truly my greatest accomplishment in life. It means the world to me that I get to be my daughter Charlotte’s mom,” said Mobley, of Moorland. “But I wouldn’t be the mother I am today if it wasn’t for my own mother and watching her navigate through all the good and all the bad my entire life.”

One of the most important lessons Mobley’s mom, Raenae Caquelin, has taught her is how to be a strong, independent woman.

“My mom has been dealt some hard cards throughout her life that I watched her work through, which made her be the strongest and most independent woman I know,” said Mobley, “and that is something I learned from her, and I am hoping to pass on to my own daughter.”

Mobley said she would see people try to walk all over her mom and try to control her life, but her mother was always strong and always fought for what she wanted.

“She worked hard her whole life to give her girls the best life and she truly did that for us. This is something that I want to teach my daughter as well – to always fight for what you believe in and to be independent. Always work hard and accomplish what you dream,” Mobley said. “I hope I can teach my daughter all the right things like my mom taught me.”

Even as we grow older and have our own children, most of us still need our moms for comfort and advice. They are always there to listen and help when needed. This Mother’s Day be sure to spoil all the mother figures in your life. Savor every single moment with them and continue to learn lessons from them as they still have so much to teach, and we still have so much to learn.