I haven’t celebrated Mother’s Day in a long time. My grandmothers died years ago and Mom passed when I was in college. But as Mother’s Day approaches this year, I’ve been wondering what Mom would think of the world today compared to what it was like when she died in 1991, a generation ago.

She no doubt would marvel at how people fill their lives with digital distraction, connecting to video, music, or the Internet every waking moment. She’d be amazed at how often people eat out and how everything is much bigger, from homes to cars to televisions to bodies.

She’d wonder what happened to kids playing outside, families enjoying the outdoors together, and people living intentional, mindful, focused lives. She’d no doubt shake her head over social media, online shopping, participation trophies, reality television, and our narcissistic American consumer culture on steroids.

Mom’s lean living philosophy inspires the way I live today. Here’s what I learned from Mom:

WORK IN A GARDEN: Long before the terms “master gardener” and “organic foods” were popularized, Mom grew her own produce and flowers. She saw the value in raising beautiful things, toiling in the soil every day, and eating fruits and vegetables fresh from the garden. I’ve tried most every workout imaginable and yet there’s nothing that challenges every part of the body and leaves me as sore and exhausted as yard work. Mom understood that. She also believed in the value of “working” outside away from the phone, television, and other disruptions. The sounds of birds and insects and even the sight of an occasional black snake were sufficient entertainment. “One is nearer God’s heart in a garden,” the poet Dorothy Frances Gurney wrote, “than anywhere else on Earth.” We put that on Mom’s tombstone.

MOVE YOUR BODY: Long before fitness became a huge industry of gyms, gadgets, gear and classes, Mom performed yoga and rode her rickety three-speed bike 10 miles a day. I was a three-sport teenage athlete with a 10-speed bike and I struggled to keep up with her. She drank a gallon of water a day, long before it became fashionable, and bought low-fat and skim milk as far back as the 1970s when it was difficult to find anything but whole milk. Mom was a registered nurse and no doubt would be stunned at today’s sedentary, computer, cubicle culture. Mom played the piano and did a lot of sewing, but otherwise I have no memories of her sitting other than to eat.

NO SCREENS: Mom died before the Internet and cell phones. Computers in 1991 were little more than word processors. She refused to get cable and watched little television other than Jeopardy, which served an educational purpose for her three children. She believed in board games (preferably Scrabble and other word challenges), long walks, backyard badminton, Ping-Pong, tennis, eating outside and those 10-mile bike rides. Though she tolerated the obsession with televised sports Dad and I shared, I can’t recall her watching an event with us, not even the Super Bowl. She preferred to be a participant rather than a spectator in life.

GO MINIMALIST: Mom was wonderfully frugal. At the supermarket she could predict the total grocery bill within 50 cents. I often thought she could win a showcase showdown contest on “The Price is Right.” She wasn’t cheap – quite generous, actually – she just didn’t believe in buying non-necessities that cluttered your life. When I began lobbying to have a car at college, she worried that it would keep me from walking and riding my bike and feared it would inspire me to spend more time at stores and at the movies. Because Mom stayed in terrific shape, she looked great in any garment, even by the unflattering fashion trends of the 1980s. But she spent little money on clothing. If there were items my sisters or I weren’t wearing, she’d wear them.

EMBRACE EVERY DAY: Mom was a model of active, healthy living and still died at 51. Even though I have no chance of developing ovarian cancer, I’ve used her example as the benchmark for how I must live. Dad smoked cigarettes until he was 48, worked a high-stress career and never was admitted to a hospital until age 70. He’s still going strong at 77. There are no guarantees for any of us regardless of lifestyle, of course. I’m only a few years away from 51 and take nothing for granted. But I’d rather live lean like Mom to improve my odds and enjoy more along the way.