Mother’s Day is just a few days off. Many of us will take the day to consider the lessons our moms imparted on us, or are still imparting. Lake Effect essayist Cari Carlson is certainly in that group. Like most people over 60, I grew up with daily, sometimes hourly, nuggets of wisdom from my mom. I pretended to listen then dismissed her words as I carried on in my kid-centered orbit. Really, how many 10-year-olds listen to their mothers when they say, "Don't cross that bridge until you come to it." Later, I realized mom knew what she was talking about. When my youngest brother was two, he had a severe case of measles-induced encephalitis. Guy went to bed one night, just like every other mischievous two-year-old, and woke up with garbled speech and a damaged brain that brought his physical and intellectual development to a stand-still. After his brain was irrevocably damaged, my parents' lives took a sad, unexpected turn. That's when mom and dad learned to cross their bridges one at a
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