Oh yes, it has finally happened. I have become my mother. This too will probably happen to you, and the scary part is you will never even see it coming. I'm sure you all remember being a child and swearing you were never going to make your children eat liver. Or perhaps you promised yourself you would never punish your children in such a ridiculous manner as you were being punished. We've all been in that fairy-tale-land called childhood where everything seems so clear to us and parents seem so unfair and square.
Somewhere around our mid twenties, however; our parents somehow miraculously start getting smarter. I'm not quite sure how this metamorphosis comes about, but slowly our parents are no longer the dimwits we once thought they were. As we tell our own children that they must brush their teeth and no, they can not have cookies for breakfast, our mother's just smile that knowing smile.
As a child who was often sent to her room for punishment, I had the bad habit of stomping up the stairs. My mother's solution to this display of temper was to tell me to come back down and wipe up all those stomps. In my mind, this was a cruel and unusual punishment created by a woman who was out of her mind. That is until I heard myself saying the exact same thing to my five year old daughter as she sullenly headed for her bedroom.
I did my best not to laugh as she incredulously looked at me and said, "Mom, there are no real stomps there." "I know, but you can just wipe up all those pretend stomps, " I replied. And she did of course with about as much enthusiasm as I have when it is time to clean toilets! Maybe my mother was a genius and I just never realized it. Or maybe, just maybe, I have become wise in my advanced years. Maybe I have learned to reason, as only adults can, that there are consequences for all actions good or bad. However this change occurred and no matter how gradually, I have indeed become the image of my mother. Not a duplicate copy mind you, but a pattern of what a good but not always perfect mother should be. I am the encourager of good behavior, the trainer of a young mind, the guiding hand in an uncertain world. It seems a long time in coming, but a big thanks to you mom.
Signing off for now with wishes for a bright and beautiful day!
