HeadInTheClouds:
It sounds like our mothers have the same idea. Mum just wanted me to do well at school so I could get myself gainfully employed and provide a stable life for myself. In that way, I will have options and not have to worry about needing to marry etc.
Did your grandparents pull her hair out for the advice that she gave you? :-)
No, that was all on dealing with their own kid, my mom. lol! Apparently she was ... strong willed, shall we say, even when she was young. I didn't really know my maternal grandparents as they passed when I was very young. I suspect my grandmother was ... strong willed also, from the stories my Mom told me about her. I know there's the stereotype of the submissive Asian woman, but most of the Okinawan women I've met are BOSS and very strong willed.
But yep, our moms sound very similar.