Today I heard.....my mother's words come from my lips. I am sure if I had been able to see myself at that moment I would also have seen her mannerism and attitude showing through too. No, it is not the first time that this has happened but when I catch myself I always find it amusing. Well sort of.
What I find most interesting for lack of a better word is, often when I channel my mother it is with words or attitude that I swore as a child/teenager that I would never use on my kids. Her pearls of wisdom such as "Say a prayer to St. Anthony," when something was lost or "Offer it up," when I was in pain or upset and the "I can't never did anything," speech whenever I was about to give up. These seem to flow from my lips with the ease of authority and wisdom now, while I see my kids flinch every time......just as I used to. I can see them mentally telling themselves that they will never annoy their children with such absurdities. Meanwhile I can hear my mothers favorite mantra...."You just wait until you have kids of your own!" Was that a warning? A prediction....... or as many like to think, a tired and frustrated mothers curse? Whatever it was, I now know what she meant.
As a teen I always loved my mom but there were definitely times when we were not each others biggest fans. I thought she was behind the times, naive and often times just flat out ridiculous. What could a 40/50ish woman know in a modern world? She on the other hand knew that I was in fact naive, thought I knew more than I actually did and that I actually was the ridiculous one. For years we were oil and water because she knew what she was talking about and I didn't have a clue, so the words of wisdom that I continually heard were irritating. If only I had been smart enough to know that one day I would long to hear those words come from her lips, just one more time......
So bottom line, I like most parents have been cursed by my mother. In so many ways I see myself becoming her. I hear her words, have been told that I now have her mannerisms and I know it all must be true because when those words spring forth I see the all too familiar eye roll from my kids. Is this a good thing? I think so. I now understand where those words came from and the wisdom behind them....even if now my kids look at me as some socially underachieving dinosaur. I can smile at their frustration and irritation with the wisdom that is currently beyond their grasp. Why? Because now I hold the power of......... the mother's curse. (wink)
What I find most interesting for lack of a better word is, often when I channel my mother it is with words or attitude that I swore as a child/teenager that I would never use on my kids. Her pearls of wisdom such as "Say a prayer to St. Anthony," when something was lost or "Offer it up," when I was in pain or upset and the "I can't never did anything," speech whenever I was about to give up. These seem to flow from my lips with the ease of authority and wisdom now, while I see my kids flinch every time......just as I used to. I can see them mentally telling themselves that they will never annoy their children with such absurdities. Meanwhile I can hear my mothers favorite mantra...."You just wait until you have kids of your own!" Was that a warning? A prediction....... or as many like to think, a tired and frustrated mothers curse? Whatever it was, I now know what she meant.
As a teen I always loved my mom but there were definitely times when we were not each others biggest fans. I thought she was behind the times, naive and often times just flat out ridiculous. What could a 40/50ish woman know in a modern world? She on the other hand knew that I was in fact naive, thought I knew more than I actually did and that I actually was the ridiculous one. For years we were oil and water because she knew what she was talking about and I didn't have a clue, so the words of wisdom that I continually heard were irritating. If only I had been smart enough to know that one day I would long to hear those words come from her lips, just one more time......
So bottom line, I like most parents have been cursed by my mother. In so many ways I see myself becoming her. I hear her words, have been told that I now have her mannerisms and I know it all must be true because when those words spring forth I see the all too familiar eye roll from my kids. Is this a good thing? I think so. I now understand where those words came from and the wisdom behind them....even if now my kids look at me as some socially underachieving dinosaur. I can smile at their frustration and irritation with the wisdom that is currently beyond their grasp. Why? Because now I hold the power of......... the mother's curse. (wink)
I love reading these "I heard my mother come out of my mouth today" stories. I have to laugh only because that will never happen with me. BUT my daughter calls me and tells me she does it....all the time. LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know your mother very well but from what I know she was an amazing woman and you are so very lucky to "channel" her often. LOL!!
I can definitely relate to this one. I remember my mom "cursing" me too and now I do it to my kids. Great blog.
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