Becoming My Mother...

It seems almost every day that I find a new thing that I do that reminds me of my mom. Sometimes I see my hands, catch a glimpse of a reflection, an organizational style in the kitchen, folding clothes, a phrase or saying, a belief that I did not realize I had... Every day I am finding myself being more like my mom. Which, since my mother is an amazing woman, I am perfectly ok with this, however... I have begun to recognize little weird quirks that I had no idea I possessed...


When I was growing up, I never paid much attention to how my mother organized things or the way in which she did things, I mean, why would I? I grew up with her organizational style my entire life... it makes sense to me. Then, I moved in with other people, and I realize that my mother's style and flair for doing things is not the way everyone else's mom does it.


Apparently, I have now adopted my mother's style in a lot of weird ways. :)


For example.. The silverware is always to the left of the sink, the spices are always right next to the stove (if cupboard space allows), cups are always to the right of the sink, and plates are to the left... again if cupboard space allows for such organization. You always put the serving spoons and spatulas on the counter in some sort of container.


Staples in the kitchen must include Milk, Peanut butter, Bread, Cereal, and chocolate chips hidden somewhere. Salt is always on the table, and you cannot cook without garlic, minced onions, and italian seasoning. You HAVE to have season salt for macaroni and cheese. You must ALWAYS have something from each food group for every meal, even if just a little bit (with the only exception being breakfast...). Even if you do not "like" a portion of the meal, you must at least try it or if it is the only option (i.e. Lima beans as the veggie), you have to have at least a small portion for the vitamin and nutritional factor. However, it is crucial that your meal is not all the same color... you just cannot have Macaroni and cheese, corn, and breaded chicken, they are all the same general color and that is just too boring to eat! LOL


When doing laundry, you have two piles... Dark. Light. haha.. forget just towels and sheets, pinks/reds, etc..etc.. You buy clothing based on its functional-ability, which includes being washed AND dried. 100% cottons are pretty much a no go unless it is a regular t-shirt (or pre-shrunk).


These are just a few of the things I have discovered recently that make me laugh, and more and more like my momma every day (which is a good thing in my opinion...). I had not realized how ingrained in me some of these things were until someone else set them up differently.


~K



Oh how like we are to our mothers…

My mother, whom I could often rarely understand growing up, I now have a deep appreciation for. It’s rather sad that it sometimes takes so long to fully understand the things they do for you, and how often they really did make sense. There has been many an occasion when I have been doing something and stopped abruptly when I realized, “oh my god, I am turning into my mother!”

My mother is a wonderful cook. Often times you hear of grown men missing their mother’s cooking, I may be relatively good at it, but I have nothing like the honed skills of my mom. She had certain things that she would almost always make homemade, bread, desserts, and many other assortments. Now, I find myself baking just for the fun of it, it’s something that reminds me of her, and living so far away, that is a very good thing. I remember when I was little how she would call her mother every now and then and ask how to make something, or what she should add to a recipe, now I find myself doing the exact same thing. It makes me smile, as if the female legacy of our family will live on through the things we create, no matter how far away we are.

She is not the most organized of women, and she would even admit to this, but she is most definitely the cleanest. Let me explain: while there may be a stack of books on the dinner table, the couch cushions all in a scramble, clean laundry still in a basket on the floor waiting to be folded, rest assured that every surface was disinfected, every floor vacuumed, swept and/or mopped (including under the couches and tables), and every dish rag bleached. She makes sense. She would allow there to be a bit of disarray, if it meant she had the time to keep things clean. I find myself often following her lead, I clean my couch cushions, always keep the floor and counters washed, but I dismiss the pile of junk on the table, or the stack of books by the chair. I like a neat house, but knowing that things are clean rather than just appearing so is something she taught me and that I now appreciate.

While these are just a few out of a very long list of attributes I have received from my mother, the list goes on, and is filled with many things that seem simple but that I now hold dear. One thing is for certain, I am proud to say that I am my mother’s daughter.

- RS