Not in. But if I give it some thought I guess the non obvious things I appreciate about / from my mum are swimming and prioritizing.

I'm going to say something nice about you instead. :) I hate to think you actually believe you are particularly mean, as you're a quite decent fellow. I'm sure your mum was proud of her son, and deservedly so.

Nice of you to celebrate her memory, even if the circumstances for it are sad. Sorry for your loss mate.

I remember seeing my father extremely sick a few years ago and that was heart-crushing, though he got better. So I understand your pain and am truly sorry for your loss.

I'm in.

As for saying something nice about my mom, I'm going to quote what she said when a good friend of mine showed up at our home with a piercing in his eyebrow:

"You think you're radical? Radical is me, who stabbed myself in the eye with a machete."

I laughed so much that day.

P.S.: I case you’re wondering, yes, my mother did stab herself in the eye with a machete. It was, obviously, an accident. It was just the tip that hit her eye as well, but enough to make her blind in that eye.

My condolences. Your mum sound like she was a really nice person. Not in.

I'm lucky to have great parents. My mum took care of us alone in what was a foreign country to her for a few years while my dad was working abroad.

Sorry for your loss.

When I was 4 my mother burned my right hand because I was making paper planes.
Thanks mum for not killing me.

Happy Birthday, htown's mother, wherever you are...

My grandmother passed away...woah, just realised its almost been 2 years now. But yeah, she was an immensely strong woman. She brought up 3 daughters (including my mother) all on her own in a time when being a single mother was cause for ostracism, and she instilled the values of being civilised, self-sufficient and yet still being kind. It confused me to no end when I saw kids in public who would be all rowdily knocking things over or yelling for sweets in the supermarket or worse in other people's homes, biting each other as part of fighting and such- I figured everyone would've gotten a similar upbringing to me, so I didn't understand why they would act like that.

Even as a grandmother, she was the grandmotherest of grandmothers- was always ready to share her incredible stories (how she worked as a photo safari guide, her youth, raising her kids, etc.), had hundreds of delicious recipes (which I hope my mother or aunts have somewhere), was always ready for playing some cards or scrabble, but was never afraid of calling out idiocy bluntly when she saw it (but to us).

So yes, I'm in, and I say this with no end of nice things to say about my mother, one of the reasons she's so great is her own mother :D.

Mom is mom and nothing can replace her. We can't live forever, all that's up to us is to make a difference while we do.
Your mom gave you a very good advice (I'm sure it was just one of many). She was a good mom, someone kind like that deserves to be remembered.

All of my foundation, my very good foundation upon which I've have built and upon which I'm still building I owe to my mom. She is still kicking (a true fighter that never gives up) and I hope she will continue to do so at least for a little while more. Thank you mom for all the life-saving advice you have given me!

I'm really sorry for your mum passing away...

Maybe you'd like to know the story from which your mother's words originate and count me in for the giveaway if it's OK:

THE TRIPLE-FILTER TEST

In ancient Greece, Socrates (the famous philosopher) was visited by an acquaintance of his. Eager to share some juicy gossip, the man asked if Socrates would like to know the story he’d just heard about a friend of theirs. Socrates replied that before the man spoke, he needed to pass the “Triple-Filter” test.
The first filter, he explained, is Truth. “Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to say is true?” The man shook his head. “No, I actually just heard about it, and …”
Socrates cut him off. “You don’t know for certain that it is true, then. Is what you want to say something good or kind?” Again, the man shook his head. “No! Actually, just the opposite. You see …”
Socrates lifted his hand to stop the man speaking. “So you are not certain that what you want to say is true, and it isn’t good or kind. One filter still remains, though, so you may yet still tell me. That is Usefulness or Necessity. Is this information useful or necessary to me?” A little defeated, the man replied, “No, not really.”
“Well, then,” Socrates said, turning on his heel. “If what you want to say is neither true, nor good or kind, nor useful or necessary, please don’t say anything at all.”

I just want to say that we should all let moms know how much we appreciate everything they've done to raise us, in every opportunity.
How old would she be now?

If I may be serious for a second, god forbid, and this may come off as kind of silly.

Every year in December my mother goes on a Christmas cookie cooking frenzy and my room is directly above the kitchen so for basically the whole month my room is the best smelling place on the planet. XD

I know it seems minor but it's the stuff like that I will remember and cherish 50 years from now.

Sorry for your loss mate...

Not in.

My deepest condolences, htown. I'm very sorry for your loss...

I'm sure your mom was a wonderful woman. She gave you a golden piece of advice and she will always be with you whenever you remember it. Mine also taught me a similar lesson and I know very well how hard it can be to follow...

I could make your words my own and say the same things about my mom. She's certainly the nicest person I ever met. So kind, altruistic, super hard-working, humble and understanding. My mom is the person I treasure the most in my life and I can't wait to see her when I go back home in a couple weeks.

I can't imagine what you're going through, especially in this "family season", so I wish you all the strength in the world to deal with it.

I'm in.

Thank you everyone for your kind words and amusing stories.

I will close the competition now.

I apologise that in my haste I forgot to say what the winners will receive (there will be two). I will be buying each winner as many games as they can get to a value of approximately $10 USD (give or take). I'll do some random number generation shortly and post the winners.

Thank again :) Roguexanter, randomness (or fate) has made you are our first winner. Please PM me what game(s) you would like to a value of approx $10 USD.

I would also like to say that I am very sorry to hear about the difficult time you and your family have had over the last few years. I really hope things improve for you and you and your mum are able to enjoy the holiday season together.
Pyrodrew, you are our second winner. Please PM me which game or games you would like to a value of $10 USD (approximately - happy to go a little over so you can get a game you would like).

Your mum sounds very nice and it is good to see you appreciate her :)

Hi RenKalan, thank you so much for this. It is very interesting, I will pass it on to my sister. :)

My mum would have turned 73 yesterday (she was quite old when she had me).