I daydreamed through high school physics, but I do remember hearing that "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."
This is true of proverbs: compare Many hands make light work with Too many cooks spoil the broth. On Mother's Day, I happened to remember my mom fearlessly bending proverbs and sayings to serve whatever parental purpose needed emphasis.
Thus you will not be surprised to learn that the same lady who insisted that you should never judge people by appearances, because you can't judge a book by its cover told my sister I don't need to get to know that guy, he looks like a bum and he's up to no good. And when Sister Dear persisted, Mom brought the discussion to a close: don't tell me I'll like him when I get to know him, I can read him like a book.
Mom's approach to proverbs and sayings was my introduction to situational ethics.
After all, if both things weren't true at least some of the time, there wouldn't be two proverbs.
The sun just came out, so that's enough critical thinking for one Mother's Day. I hope all of you have some enjoyable memories to share, and Happy Mother's Day to all.
