Because I said so!

You know how your mom tells you not to make a face too long or it will stay that way? I think I made a sarcastic face for WAY too long.  I’m bordering on cynical, but parenthood requires a level of tolerance I sometimes just don’t have.  I've learned that nothing makes you a hypocrite quite like parenthood.   I was particularly difficult to my mother.  My children were wished on me, like every good mother does.

You know you're a mom when:

· Your child throws up and you catch it
· You consider finger paint to be a controlled substance
· You fast forward through the scene where the hunter shoots Bambi's mother
· Someone else's kid throws up at a party and you keep eating
· You hear your mother's voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "Not in your good clothes."
· You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.

What my Mom taught me:

· Religion - "You better pray that comes out of the carpet"
· Logic - "Because I said so, that's why"
· Irony - "Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about"
· Wisdom - "When you get to my age you'll understand"
· Justice - "One day you'll have kids; I hope they turn out just like you!!"

My Mom is great.  She’s wise and always has good advice.  I try to do that for my daughters as well.  You know you've truly grown up when you realize that your parents knew exactly what they were talking about.  Where would I be without my mother?  Probably running with scissors into the middle of traffic without my jacket on, just to talk to some stranger.

I’m getting better at it, though.  I find myself handing out the same speeches to my girls that were used on me.  I ‘call’ your “because-everyone-else-is” and ‘raise’ you a “because-I-said-so”.  I do pray that someday, my kids will feel about me like I do now about my Mom.  Message for my children:  When all else fails…….admit I was right. 

Mom… You were right.