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People on the National Mall celebrate their mom by sharing her best advice

Jimmy Alexander | jimmy.alexander@wtop.com

May 9, 2024, 1:23 PM

What's the best advice your mother ever gave you?

It was 110 years ago Thursday that President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation asking people to give a public expression of reverence to mothers through the celebration of Mother’s Day.

Since that day, mothers would be celebrated here in the United States on the second Sunday of May each year.

For many of us, few people in our lives give as much direction and guidance than our mothers. A lot of us spend the rest of our lives sharing the wisdom that our moms passed down to us.

WTOP headed to D.C.’s National Mall to ask the question, “What’s the best advice your mother gave you?”

“Her mom told her to keep going. ASL is different from English. Keep going and keep your head up high,” Lakeevia McLaughlin said, who translated the answers from sign language for her friend, Tarjana Lewis.

McLaughlin said her mother always told her to never give up. She listened to her mom’s advice and it paid off. This fall, the native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, will be attending Gallaudet University.

Ivin Drew is a teacher visiting D.C. on a field trip. She told WTOP her mom’s best advice was to lead by example.

“She raised all of her nine children, most of them by herself. She did some amazing things. I watched her go to school at night. I watched her go to work every day. Her strength was endless,” Drew said.

A special moment for Drew happened after she gave her answer, when her son told WTOP that her best advice was to learn from your mistakes.

“He’s listening to me! That’s amazing. That warmed my heart to know that he is listening,” Drew said.

Antonio De Leo is from Italy and is attending school here in D.C. He pointed out that his mom’s life hack was, “You miss every shot you don’t take.”

Lynne Jennings lives halfway between Sydney and Brisbane. The Australian took time from sightseeing to tell WTOP that her mom advised her to be a good wife, a good mother and a nice person.

Marty Duttry and his wife are spending a couple days here in the nation’s capital. He said his mother lived to be 93 and pushed the importance of honesty to him and his siblings.

“She always told me to study hard and to be a good girl,” said visitor Pat Rebello from California.

When WTOP asked the nearly 80-year-old Californian if she listened to her mom and was always a good girl, she laughed and said, “I’ve done my best.”

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Jimmy Alexander

Jimmy Alexander has been a part of the D.C. media scene as a reporter for DC News Now and a long-standing voice on the Jack Diamond Morning Show. Now, Alexander brings those years spent interviewing newsmakers like President Bill Clinton, Paul McCartney and Sean Connery, to the WTOP Newsroom.

jimmy.alexander@wtop.com

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