What skills did your parents teach you?

My mother taught me how to cook and of the finer points of understanding ladies.

My father taught me how to be a Gentleman and how to always be prepared.

To this very day they are invaluable lessons.

but what I did learn was to speak various languages Originally Posted by Valerie

cough..cough..Greek..cough..co ugh

He also taught me quite a bit about driving.
C Originally Posted by Camille

My parents loved this with all the kids. They even squabbled over who got to do it. Even though it probably scared the shit out of them, in retrospect, how else does a parent get 40 or 50 hours of one-on-one quality time with their 16 year old?

My father taught me that if something doesn't fit, you need to get a bigger hammer.

As you can guess, home repair was not our thing. Originally Posted by pjorourke

Joking aside, most of what my parents taught me was the intangible stuff Camille wanted us to avoid. My old man wasn't real good with a hammer so there wasn't much to pass on...

...that said, particularly as the generations have gone by and our economy has changed many of these skills aren't nearly as important as they once were. We live in the "outsourced economy"...you get a flat tire, the Auto Club is there in half an hour to an hour.....small home repair, call your handyman.....(not that there is much skill to it) don't want to cut the lawn, hire the neighbor kid...I could go on and on...

...even cooking isn't as necessary a skill as it once was...but it is very practical....& I'm convinced cooking her dinner (other than $$$$$) is the best way to get her in bed....

cough..cough..Greek..cough..co ugh Originally Posted by Marshall

Only sexually speaking

My mother taught me detailed budgeting between the ages of 10 - 12. I knew exactly how much money we had, what bills and groceries cost. I was never naive about cost of living, which my father appreciated when I moved in (though he did not have that kind of full disclosure). With my mother I learned how to live poor in comfort and in relative style. It obviously proved very useful in life, but mostly it made it's mark in running a small business.

My mother also taught me to draw.

My father taught me to change oil in a car - in one eat out the other by mid teen years. However I learned a great deal about gardening.

I'm a self taught cook, though some of my digs are inspired by things mom and dad would make.

1 daughter. 2 step daughters. They knew how to change a tire on their car before I let them drive. And yes they had AAA.

And yes they had AAA. Originally Posted by Marcus Aurelius

What timing. I just got off their website. Next weekend I'm going out of town and thought it best to restart my membership with them. As a birthday gift each year, my parents made sure my membership was up to date.

My father taught me that i should always orient myself on the ones that are better than i am (in school) (or at an ability i like to learn) , never on the average or never on the ones that are not trying hard enough.
He also taught me that trust is good but control is better.
He also taught me that "just because other people do things it is not a justification for myself to do it - learn to think for yourself".

my mother taught me that being an escort is actually also a reputable profession, and about genuine feelings.
she also taught me that being dependent on men (she always was searching for a saviour and defined her self worth thru the acknowledgement of men) is best avoided, because you might end up wasting too much time before getting replaced by a younger one (or anyone ) for that matter. And then not being able to catch up anymore be it in the job market or in education.

Me and my sister left home when i was 15 due to being abused by my stepmother (and my father being in big fat denial about that) so the good memories about my childhood came up fairly recently. I try to memorize good things.
I hardly have contact though with my parents. I have seen both of them recently togeher with my sister since 2008 when my grandmother died. That is about the average time i see them :-))... (lol)....

Oh and on the overall level both my parents taught me that being the genetical parent does not mean you are socially capable of education. I have gathered soul family around the planet because i never had a real family. That is a good lesson. I have learned authenticity.

I have learned that people who have not the same wave in mind don`t make adequate partners in life and that you never ever should attempt to manipulate to change someone. (My mother and my father were direct opposites in their marriage - she was very young - he older - she was a hippie - he was totally conservative ; the marriage ended in a disaster and my mother is a broken personality ever since. )

Oh and i learned that i can finish an university education, let alone make it thru school, even though my father tried to convince me i am way too stupid and i will never succeed in life . so i acquired good skills at proofing self righteous and judgemental people to be wrong ;-) (lol)

That you can never count on anyone but yourself
Dad always said "Root hog or die"

· Biuld a position.

· Line up the sights and cover the bull.

· Close and then open your eyes.

· If the bull is still covered, take in a breath and let out half.

· Squeeze with slow even pressure.

Windage and elevation

And remenber the Co-Sine correction for steep angles.

The blade goes in then up.
Not across like Hollywood.

No sound here fellas. OK?

M-A: I read somewhere (Here maby? A provider's Sig-Line?), " The way to a man's heart is through his stomach: Thrust up and to your right."

My dad taught me that if you can't find work where your are, go to where the work is. I taught myself to cook in Jr High when mother's womens lib persona kicked in. It was cook or go hungry. I was cooking for her, the asshole, my 2 brothers, and my sister. I cooked my first thanksgiving dinner when I was 14. The only thing that I messed up was the baking powder biscuits. The recipe book was old, I saw "2 <garbled> Baking Powder," I just assumed it was cups, not tablespoons. They exploded on contact.

My dad could fix anything. I walked around him believing he was a genious. Needless to say, I've work on my own cars, do my own plumbing, and all other things guy. My mother was a mormon <don't laugh> and I learned to grow a garden and can food. We had chickens, geese and countless rows of various veggies/fruits.

I learned to drive by my fathers side on the big rigs and how to hunt and fish. One of the lessons he taught me was, "if you ever go to jail, don't call me." I've never been to jail.

After the first girl I ever slept with told my mother about our encounter, my mother told me, "never tell a girl you love her if you don't." I haven't.

I miss my dad. And for you libs if you ever wanted to know why I'm so passionate regarding liberalism, I don't speak to my liberal mother any more.