I vowed I'd never say some of the things my mother said to me when I was a kid. When I became a mom, I held true to my promise. I was doing well and then one day it happened.
My eldest daughter wanted to go to the amusement park with her friends at the end of the school year. Being the mom, I had to ask questions. My daughter wasn't giving me good enough answers. I asked things like how much? What time was everyone meeting? How would she get there? Was it a school-sanctioned trip? Were there adult chaperones/parents? She wasn't answering any question to my satisfaction. That's when the words slipped out.
My reply: If your friends jumped into the lake, would you?
I had done it. My mother's words came out of my mouth. I couldn't stop them and I couldn't take them back. I didn't know what to say or do. Has this happened to you?
I had avoided all of her other Carribean expressions like "Make haste", "the fruit don't fall far from the tree," "if a child lies, then (s)he will turn into a thief," and "you head ain't good." Was I now about to turn into my mother? I hope not.
My children remind me that I'm nothing like my mother. They know my personality, have seen my silly side, and have seen me cry. My daughters also know I'm the biggest Michael Jackson fan on the planet, I love sports, and Tuesday night is my night to go bowling with the girls....it has been that way for the last 23 years.
So, I survived. As a result, other expressions are slowly coming out. I haven't turned into my mom. I just realized that I am a mom and think like one now.
Posted By: Marsha Jones
Saturday, November 14th 2009 at 11:36AM
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