Thanks Mom!

I remember my mom yelling at me when I was younger.  She was always saying, "Why don't you listen to me when I tell you not to (insert whatever dumb activity I was doing at that time), you're going to hurt yourself!" "Why can't you watch your sister and your brother, when they did (that annoyingly dumb thing they did), they got hurt and yet, you follow right along behind them and do (that annoyingly dumb thing my sister and brother just did)!  Can't you learn from them?" and finally, out of sheer frustration, "Fine!  Go do (that stupid gonna-get-you-hurt thing) but don't come crying to me when you hurt yourself!"  I also remember her saying, "I hope you have a daughter just like you someday!"

Today, Daughter was running on the couch.  I say about twelve times, "Don't run around on the couch, you're gonna fall off and bash your head on the coffee table!"  Daughter pays no attention whatsoever and continues running back and forth across the couch.  I ask, "Are you going to listen to me and stop?  Cuz you are going to hurt yourself!"  This is then followed by the retelling of a story of her friend that fell off his couch, hit his head on a toy on the floor and had to go to the hospital for stitches.  The story was followed by, "Can't you learn something from that?  Or do you think he got hurt but you won't?"  Daughter replies with, "I'm not gonna get hurt cuz I won't fall off!"  I hear my mom's voice coming out of my mouth, "Fine!  Go ahead and run around on the couch but when you fall off and split your head open, don't come crying to me!"

Sure enough, about five minutes later, Daughter falls off the couch, hits her head on the lamp next to the couch and starts wailing.  I, just like my mom used to do, grab her and hug her to me, stroke her hair, ask if she's OK and kiss her head.  The whole time, as I suspect my mom used to do, laughing behind her back cuz now that I know she's OK, it was kinda funny!

Daughter says she's done with running on the couch now.  We'll see if she remembers that tomorrow!

So, thanks Mom for yelling at me, trying to teach me, still letting me fall and being there to pick me up when I did.  Also, thanks for the curse and blessing of a daughter just like me.

I have a feeling, someday down the line, I'll be telling my daughter I hope she has a daughter just like her.

MOM...QUIT LAUGHING!