This Mother’s Day, I was in search of people willing to share the best motherly advice they received. I knew the best place to talk to people who had moms on their mind this weekend was at the mall. So I went shopping.

From the J.C. Penney’s handbag department, to the food court, to a bench outside of Macy’s, I met 10 shoppers, ages 21 to 92, who were happy to open up and candidly share some serious and sometimes humorous motherly advice. Here’s what they told me that their mothers told them:

Do the best you can. I can accept it as long as I know you did your best. “My mother gave me the motivation to be my best.” – Esther, age 85

No matter how many times you do it, you’ll get caught! “I knew I couldn’t get away with things. My mom kept me in line.” – Caleb, age 22

Be kind to your kids. They’ll pick your nursing home! (laughter) – Sharon, age 64

Keep your mouth shut and listen to what people say. “…and so I did!” – Dennis, age 65

Don’t give up. “That advice helped me many times, especially when I was trying to teach myself to swim and kept sinking. I didn’t give up and I learned to swim.” – Matthew, age 25

If you expect life to be fair, you’ll be very disappointed. But in life, make sure you are fair. “This made me look at other people through their eyes to see the situation from their perspective.” – Linda, age 62

You can achieve anything you want. “It’s the reason I’m graduating from college and heading to law school in the fall.” – Nicole, age 21

Allow enough time to be on time.“I would always just make it in time to places I had to be. I’m still working at it, but I’m more mindful that there’s a better way (to manage my time)”. – Carol, age 64

It wasn’t what my mom said, it was her example. “My parents were married for 50 years. They never did anything without telling the other one first. It was this respect that they had for each other that taught me how to be. And it’s the reason my own marriage has now lasted 50 years.” – Betty, age 67

It wasn’t what my mom said, it was what she did with my money! “I worked in a factory. My mother used to keep my money. That’s why I got married, so I could keep my money! And I stayed married for 69 years!” – Bill, age 92.

Motherly advice has been around since the Stone Age. It’s what makes us wiser. I hope you’ve enjoyed these nuggets of wisdom!