Good morning, and happy Mother’s Day. Today, we’re sharing a project that collected Times readers’ favorite bits of advice from their moms.
Words of wisdomWhen our younger son was deep in a picky eating stage, my husband and I would often tell him: “Don’t yuck someone else’s yum.” He didn’t have to eat everything being served, but he couldn’t be rude. We repeated it whenever he sneered at the fish, meat or — heaven forbid — green vegetables on our plates. Thankfully, his picky eating has mostly faded. But the expression has stuck around, and it has grown to encompass much more than food. I find myself reminding both of our sons not to “yuck” other people’s tastes, passions, or the things that make them happy. It may not be great poetry, and they may roll their eyes at me, but it is a pithy reminder of the virtues of tolerance. For Mother’s Day, my colleagues on the Well desk asked Times readers to share their moms’ favorite expressions, and we were flooded with more than 5,000 submissions. It gave me hope that my own favorite saying will stick with my sons. We have picked a handful of readers’ responses to share in today’s newsletter. ‘It’ll quilt out.’Mom was a quilter, as am I. If there was a small mistake in a quilt project, once the final stitches were in and the project was washed, no one would ever see the problem. Most things just don’t have to be perfect. — Laura Falk, 57, St. Louis, Missouri ‘All people bring joy: some by coming, some by going!’It’s such a lighthearted way to reframe interactions with difficult people. Always makes me laugh! — Michelle Pauk, 42, Franklin, Tennessee ‘少吃, 多滋味’“Eat less, taste more.” At a time of scarcity of food during the war, mother used to say her motto to us at meal time. — Christa Shih, 92, New York City ‘Knock with your elbows.’It meant show up at a friend’s place burdened with contributions for the party. — Natalie Serber, 64, Portland, Oregon ‘Better to wear out than rust out.’Having had polio, my mother’s inclination was toward motion, in which she often was a blur. She could best her three daughters in sports and accomplish more in a day than all of us combined. — Catherine R. Seeley, 78, Easton, Maryland ‘A man riding by on a fast horse would never notice.’She used to say this whenever I complained that something wasn’t perfect. It taught me to always remember that “good enough” is good enough. — Susan Moxon, 81, San Diego, California ‘Tout passe et tout s’efface, sauf les souvenirs.’“Everything passes and everything fades away, except memories.” I find myself using my Haitian mom’s saying whenever someone frets over something of little importance. — Babette Wainwright, 73, Madison, Wisconsin ‘Don’t push the river.’Now I say this to friends — stop striving and forcing outcomes, trust the natural flow of life, let go and stay present. — Julie Merrick, 56, Olympia, Washington ‘Sing out, Louise!’To my mom, this line from the musical “Gypsy” meant always let your presence be known. Make a choice, be specific and carpe diem. “Curtain up, light the lights!” — Jonathan Cobrda, 35, New York City ‘Never pass up an opportunity to pee.’It’s very true, especially on road trips, but it also has a deeper meaning in my life: Take care of something when you get the chance. — Cari Stoltz, 42, Richland Center, Wisconsin ‘I’m in your pocket.’Mom always said this to me, and it made me feel safe. Now that she is gone, I hear her in my mind’s ear and know she is still always with me. — Julie Lewis, 70, Providence, Rhode Island And you can find much more motherly wisdom in our full story.
Hantavirus
War in the Middle East
Politics
Around the World
Countries have been scrambling to contain a hantavirus outbreak linked to a cruise ship. Though experts say the risk to the public is low, the outbreak has raised a question: Are we ready for the next pandemic? Yes. The mRNA approach, used for the Covid-19 vaccines, can help develop vaccines a lot faster than before, and A.I. can help identify and track possible threats, Andrew Thurston writes for The Brink: “With the mRNA platform in place and proven, it could rapidly be turned against other diseases in future.” No. Funding for pandemic countermeasures have fallen, and the world is overly reliant on the U.S. for research, Dr. Alex Asamoah Ankomah writes for Geographical: “In the wake of the carnage from the Covid-19 pandemic, the public rightly expects us to be better prepared, not less, for future outbreaks and to collaborate more closely.”
Molly Jong-Fast tried to emulate her famous mother, the novelist Erica Jong. It didn’t work: “I became the kind of woman my mother used to make fun of.” Democrats can win back blue-collar voters by focusing on affordability, not climate change, Matthew Huber writes. Here are columns by Nicholas Kristof on how President Trump’s U.S.A.I.D. cuts hurt poor children and Ross Douthat on what A.I. means for religion. The Times Sale ends soon: Expand your knowledge with our experts. Take advantage of our best offer and gain understanding and insight in every area of life. Just $1 a week for your first year of unlimited access to news, culture, cooking and more.
Carving station: Spaniards line up to eat ham prepared by Ernesto Soriano, one of the world’s best slicers of jamón ibérico. Voice of nature: David Attenborough celebrated his 100th birthday. The Context: Silicon Valley oligarchs worried about the risks their technology posed to the world. They forgot about people.
M.L.B.: Bobby Cox led the Atlanta Braves to five National League pennants and a World Series championship in the 1990s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014 as “one of the most successful managers in history.” He died at 84. N.B.A.: The draft lottery is at 3 p.m. Eastern on ABC. John Hollinger’s rankings offer some options for who the winner will take at No. 1. College softball: Yesterday, U.C.L.A.’s Megan Grant broke the sport’s 31-year-old home run record. Read more about the player known as “Chef Megan.”
“Angel Down,” by Daniel Kraus: Few authors can pull off a novel that unfolds in a single sentence, but Kraus nailed it, landing this year’s Pulitzer Prize for fiction. “Angel Down,” one of the Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2025, tells the dizzying and gruesome story of a group of World War I soldiers who encounter a fallen angel on the battlefield. Our reviewer described the novel as a “thunderous gallop,” adding, “The conclusion is a stunner, although I’m not sure if a book that ends with a comma rather than a period can be said to conclude at all.” For more: Read our full review of “Angel Down,” and an interview with Kraus.
This week’s subject for The Interview is Ramit Sethi, a personal finance expert and the author of “I Will Teach You to Be Rich.” He also helps couples with their finances on his podcast, “Money for Couples.” I see couples come on your show, and to outward appearances they look like they should be doing well, but they’re really struggling. They’re talking about losing their house or the specter of divorce because of tensions around money. And on the other side you have people on the show who have a lot of money but seem completely unable to enjoy it. It all paints a grim portrait. What do you think your podcast is saying about American society? It’s no surprise to me that money is fraught and that even the people I have on the podcast who are multimillionaires —— Aren’t happy! Yeah, they’re not happy. You look at it from the outside and go, “That is shocking.” I have couples who are two months away from running out of money — and they have kids! They will lose their house, they will lose their multiple vehicles, they are months away from it, and they’re remarkably lackadaisical about it. They have never really faced any consequences. When I ask them, “What are the consequences that you have faced?”… “Oh, I have $25,000 of credit card debt.” I ask, “How does that affect you day to day?” … “Nothing. It’s just a number.” It doesn’t help that we live in a society that thinks people who have money are better than people who don’t. It’s a bizarre relationship. We love the wealthy in America. We aspire to be them. But we hate them. We hate them for evading tax increases. We hate them for being evil capitalists. And these simple labels actually do us a disservice. We need to understand that just because you have money does not mean you are evil or bad. But if you have billions and you argue against paying a slight marginal tax increase — you might be an asshole. Read more of the interview here. Or watch a longer version on YouTube. |
