Editor’s Note: There comes a moment in every mother’s life when she realizes the inevitable…that she sounds just like her mom. Today we welcome Courtney Patterson and her fantastic essay on this subject.
I Sound Like My Mom!
It had been an extremely long day. I hadn’t showered all weekend, nor had I changed my clothes over two days and to top it off.
I looked like something from Night of the Living Dead. Maddy was around 18 months and was…well…I don’t even know what the word would be; wild, crazy, and unmanageable – take your pick.
My husband left me to do the single parent thing while he was away for nine days for his residency, leaving me alone with our little tyrant.
I remember the moment clearly – I was trying to clean up Maddy’s room for bed time and every time I would put a toy in its place, Chickie would promptly take it back out again. I asked her to stop several times and each moment was met with that coy look that clearly said, “Challenge accepted.”
This went on for a few minutes and I found myself at my boiling point. As Chickie reached for another toy, I firmly said “Nooooo” and removed the truck from her hands. The waterworks and gnashing of teeth started immediately. Before I could stop myself, I heard it…
I heard my mother. “Stop that crying or I’ll give you something to cry about!”
Noooooo! I swore I’d never utter that phrase! I sound like my mom!
[bctt tweet=”And in one second of anger, I became my mother! #momlife #toddlerlife #losethecape @VOLSMama1976″ username=”losethecape”]
As much as we all try to avoid it, in some way, shape, or form, we all become a sliver of our mothers at some point during parenthood. Especially when talking to our children. Completely innocently, our patience is short and before we know it – Oops! Out it slips.
I’ve been known to throw down some gems in my short 3.5 years with Maddy. Allow me to share a few:
“Get your fingers out of your nose| butt | diaper.”
“Do you want to go in time out?” (As if I’m going to get an affirmative to this)
“I will count to 3…”
“If I have to come over there and get you, you won’t like it”
“Let’s see who can be quiet the longest” (The quiet game)
And the coup d’etat of all mom quotes…
“So help me if I have to pull this car over…”
Yep. I’ve been there and done that with all of these. More times than I’d like to count.
And you know what? I’m not the least bit ashamed of it. The way I see it, I feel as if by saying all of these “mom quotes”, I’ve been officially indoctrinated into the mom club.
I’ve always felt like I didn’t feel like an “official” mom until certain things happened to me as a parent anyway…
- Get pooped and peed on? Check.
- Pull an all-nighter with a sick baby? Check.
- Sleep in positions I never dreamed my body was capable of just to keep my baby asleep? Check and double check.
- Thrown out some uber-cheesy, stereotypical mom quotes? Check, double check, and triple check!!
My sweet, quiet newborn did not prepare me for what would happen during the toddler stages. I wasn’t prepared for the banshee screaming when precious child doesn’t get her way. The daily trip to Toddlerville is like suiting up for battle: they are coming for you and they are fully loaded.
And it’s these crazy, chaotic and delirious types of days where we find comfort in unconsciously using the words of our own mothers and you know what – IT’S OKAY. Embrace those quotes. Laugh at them. The way I see it, it’s a rite of passage for all parents.
Who doesn’t have an absolutely hysterical story of their mom looking like a rabid dog while she’s swatting flies in the back seat (trying to get to your head) while driving and yelling loud enough for everyone to hear. “Don’t make me pull this car over!!!”
If you don’t have a story like that, I kind of feel sad for you.
But there is another mom quote that we heard a lot growing up in my parent’s home . A hundred times more than any of the other quotes I mentioned above.
“I love you.”
And in the end, that quote is the one our kids will remember and cherish the most. Think about it – more times than not, your child will laugh at you when you try to be the boss however, they will cling close to you forever when they know the truth of your feelings. I know I did and still do. If I can be half the mom to Madeline that my mom was to me (Mom quotes included) I’ll be satisfied with my job as a parent.
Keep it funny moms. I’d hate to have to pull this blog over.
Courtney Patterson is the mother of the Divine Miss M, a lover of Shiraz wine, Mexican food, the TN Vols football, coffee, pearls, and Sunday naps. She writes at Shiraz In My Sippy Cup and you can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest.