Daily writing prompt

What’s the most profound piece of advice you’ve been given? Did you take it?

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“Get an education, and don’t get pregnant.”

This was passed down from my mother, an exceptionally competent, professional, and brilliant woman who heard it from her own mother–my Russian grandmother.

My baba lived in the interior of British Columbia, could not speak English, had a husband die from Parkinson’s-related disease, and was left with four children, existing on welfare while her wealthy brothers deprived her of any financial support.

(One of those men suffered from what we might call “elder abuse” when his own daughter absconded with his fortune several years ago, but that’s not the point of this entry…although many of us might deem it “karmic destiny”)

Do NOT be a baby maker–their father might die, or silently fuck off altogether, or cheat on you and leave you for someone who didn’t put up any sacrifice–and make sure you can always take care of yourself by going to school and having a career.

That’s what her message was, and it’s the greatest piece of advice any woman could pass down to another woman.