Life-Changing Quotes From Our Favorite TV Moms

Moms are awesome. Moms are the superheroes that swoop in for scraped knees and broken hearts. Moms are there when you just want to complain about life, or talk about last week’s Scandal episode. Whether you want to accept it or not, at one point in time your mom was your age, so she totally gets what you’re going through, no matter what the situation. So go hug/call her, and come back when you’re ready.

Now that you’ve reminded your real mom how much she means to you, let’s talk about our favorite TV moms, shall we? They’re there for us when we need them, too. Sometimes, they’re just a few Netflix clicks away. Sure, they don’t really exist, but they’ve made up for that itty-bitty flaw by imparting some really heart-warming words of wisdom throughout the years (or seasons). With Fall TV just weeks away, we decided it was a good time to take stock of our favorite fictional mothers, and remember all those smarty-pants things they’ve said through the years (or seasons).

Tami Taylor (Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights) on raising kids: “Well, the big deal is that it’s part of my job to make sure you don’t grow up stupid. It’s bad for the world.”

Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls) on mother-daughter relationships: “This is it. She can finally go to Harvard like she’s always wanted and get the education that I never got and get to do all the things that I never got to do and then I can resent her for it and we can finally have a normal mother-daughter relationship.”

Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham, Parenthood) on the importance of just being there: “For what it’s worth, you have me. I’m not going anywhere. And I’m really sorry, but that’s gonna have to be enough, okay? Okay.”

Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen, Modern Family) on seizing the day: “Is this what you’re gonna do with your life? Sleep late and take a selfie?”

Lady Grantham (Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey) on making friends: “I don’t dislike him, I just don’t like him. Which is quite different.”

Kitty Forman (Debra Jo Rupp, That ’70s Show) on family bonding: “All families are embarrassing, and if they’re not embarrassing, they’re dead.”

Ashley Marin (Laura Leighton, Pretty Little Liars) on rebounds: “Trust me, throwing yourself at a new guy is the not the way to get over the old one.”

Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young, Scandal) on tough times: “It hurts until it doesn’t. You think it’s going to break you, but it won’t. You may not sleep as well at night, but you will be fine.”

Betty Francis née Draper (January Jones, Mad Men) on opportunities: “When you don’t have any power, you have to delay things.”

Aleida Diaz (Elizabeth Rodriguez, Orange is the New Black) on making mistakes: “Hey, it’s alright. It’s alright. A lot of people are stupid and still live full, productive lives.”

Colleen Donaghy (Elaine Stritch, 30 Rock) on, uh, feminism?: “You see, that’s what feminism does. It makes smart girls with nice birthing shapes believe in fairy tales. Stop waiting for your prince.”

Images and gifs via here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here