We’re All Becoming Our Mothers

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Newsflash: you’re turning into yo mama. It was the fall of 2010, my pre-motherhood life. My mom and stepdad, Jim, had this timeshare deal and we thought it’d be fun to do Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. After settling in, we headed out to see the sights and I turned to my husband, David and said, “Baby, do you need your jacket?” Not thirty seconds later, the shockingly unbelievable happened. My mother and Jim emerged from their room, and she said to him, “Baby, do you need your jacket?”

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Upon hearing this, I froze and my face turned pale. My mother and my voices even fluctuated in the same tone. I looked at my husband who had the same look on his face, and hissed “NOT A WORD.” He erupted in laughter, to which I responded, “Enjoy that horrifying glimpse in your future.”

It hit me that day that I was becoming more like my mother. Since becoming a mom myself, it is even more prevalent. I hear it when I laugh with my kids. I hear it when I’ve reached the end of my rope. Some mornings, I even catch myself buying a Diet Coke, her drink of choice. 

When we’re kids, we think our parents are so out of touch. We think they’re uncool because they like The Bee Gees. We think they’re old. We think they don’t understand. Then parenthood hits you like a freight train. You suddenly catch yourself saying the same things they did, or understanding why they made certain parenting choices. Things like rearranging the dishes in the dishwasher. (Just like she did to you when you were a kid, trying to be helpful. Then you called her a “control freak” and told her to watch that special on Oprah about it.)

Two beautifully imperfect people came together and made YOU; their miracle. The truth is, they’re amazing. They sacrificed. They did their best and frankly, we’re all pretty wonderful. 

I say embrace it, ladies. You are as crazy as your mother. But, guess what? She’s awesome and so are you!

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Jenny
Textbook extrovert. If there’s a stage, Jenny wants to be on it; whether it’s singing in church, doing stand-up comedy or acting. She has recently joined a cult called LuLaRoe. Her husband, David, is deeply concerned. Jenny and David, a pastor, are recently celebrating eighteen years of marriage. After years of infertility, they became adoptive parents of two year old twin boys in 2014. They’ve never been happier or more exhausted. Every day is an adventure. Jenny blogs at thefivestages.wordpress.com and has a regular feature in Tualatin Life newspaper called Everyday Heroes to celebrate those serving our community. She and her husband started a clothing line based on their story and you can check it out at bottlecapbadge.com. There’s nothing we can’t do with a little bit of love and a whole lot of caffeine.

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