Thursday, January 29, 2009

Mom Competition (Sincerely 'Fro Me to You)

I have a theory.

Each of us parent our children based in direct relation to how we were parented.

We are either trying to replicate our childhood, or make up for it.

In many cases it's like a pendulum. It swings from rigid to lazze faire.

And with each new generation it won't swing so far to the extremes.

And the more time passes, (ie our children get older) we begin to hear our mother's or father's words come from our mouths. Regardless of our intentions.

*off my pychobabble soapbox for today*

That said, I am competitive.

(Stay with me......it'll all come together.)

I am one of THOSE moms.

Although, I am only in competition with my mother.

The rest of you.....live and let live. Really.

I just strive to beat my mother in all areas of motherhood.

It drives me.

If my mom would have agreed to enter into any sort of competition with me she certainly would have chosen a different arena. She wouldn't trade being MY mother for anything. But it wasn't something she chose.

This showdown lives in my head. (it's getting crowded in there, by the way)

Here's a little useless background that will set up this example:

Again, we moved around a lot. 16 schools, remember? My mom rarely came to our school. She didn't keep track of which day was which, like the holiday party was this day, reports cards came out that day, or picture day is Wednesday.

I try to keep up with all of those things with my kids, but as the kids are getting older it is beginning to blur and lose the importance status it once had.

Let's take Picture day for example.

I always note Picture day on my calendar so I know to double check that the kids look decent before driving them to school. Even though we only purchase the class picture.

I just don't want one of those funky school pics of my kid ending up on a humor blog.

I'm just saying.....I see which way this WWW thing is blowing.

My mom, though? Never occurred to her.

Look at this:
This is a picture of my brother in 3rd. grade.

Looks like a typical mid to late '70's kid?

Take a closer look:

Yup, that's bubble gum DRIED to his face. It looks to be either a few days old, or he was a dirty pig. It's a toss up. If you knew him you'd agree.

Now, this particular school we spent no more than 3-4 months there and attended two other schools that same year. We moved from Florida, with my dad, to New Hampshire where they separated for the final time, and back to another part of Florida with my mom's new boyfriend.

It was a rough year for us. My brother had to live this picture down.

Me? Well, I'll save the brownie story for Valentine's Day. It's worth the wait, pinky swear.

Back to the competition:

Let's just say.......

My children have NEVER had dried, dirty gum on their faces in a school picture.

Bahama Shores Mama: 1

Gypsy Mama: 0

IN YOUR FACE........with love :)


Go visit We Are THAT Family to see what others are diggin' up.

18 comments:

Keeper Of All Things said...

Bubble Gum!!!!!
That is toooo funny!!!!!!
Wheres yours ???
thats the one I want to see

Tami said...

Gypsy Mama - perfect!!

Muthering Heights said...

I know what you mean about "competing" with your mom - I want to be totally different, and it shows!

Jesica said...

I thought maybe it was his attempt at a sweet mustache. I understand much of what you say. We moved a lot as a child and now I just desire security for my little man. Good post and great pic.

Traci @ The Bakery said...

OMG!!! That is hilarious....I think our moms were sisters. My sister had to WALK to my mom's work place when she got back from camp.....NO ONE WAS THERE TO PICK HER UP. I so agree w/ you on how we parent. My mom actually said to me, "Did I do ANYTHING right as a parent?" I felt so bad, because I mostly remember the negative stuff.....I'm sure there was good stuff in between the SIX DIFFERENT DADS....lol.

Kristen said...

Fabulous!!!

Bubble gum. That's the best.

Your brother must love you a lot or y'all don't speak in order to get away posting that!

Upstatemamma said...

You are so right. I find myself remembering all the things my mom did "wrong" and trying to make up for them with my kids.
My kids will NEVER have to wear sweatpants under their dress to go to school. They WILL have snow pants. :)

Colleen - Mommy Always Wins said...

Ha! Poor brother. Was that an "at home" haircut, too?

Anonymous said...

Dried up bubble gum - that's a classic :-)

Unknown said...

Ha! So funny! Love the pitures!

littletoesandcheerios said...

Sticky icky bubble gum! Such a funny memory. Oh, I have a few bad school pics of my own.LOL

Unknown said...

My first time visiting your blog. Love it.

Great pic - out school photos were terrible too. Although can't blame my Mum - we went to school perfectly tidy, but by the time the photo was taken we look like we have been dragged through hedges backwards!

akawest said...

I assumed he had scabs on his face, which wouldn't be unusual for a young boy.

I often think I fail miserably in my parenting. When my 21 year old is screaming at me, telling me that she is an adult and doesn't need my advice, I know that I have become my mother.
This is offset when the same daughter tells people (never me) she wants to one day raise children in exactly the same manner as she was raised.

I enjoyed reading the list about you. You made me feel a lot more normal.

Come visit us. I have a deaf 16 year old, who would love to help you practice your ASL.

Tammy said...

*SNORT* *GIGGLE* Awesome post and I'm looking forward to Valentine's post now!

Kasey said...

I like your style!! Funny picture.

UtahJenny said...

I LOVE that story - the dried gum on the face, so sad and so funny all at the same time! What a childhood you lived!!! Can't wait to see your class photos surface!

BlueCastle said...

That is hilarious! Poor kid. :)

TJ said...

I try really hard to make sure Kaia is clean and perty for her photos, but she always manages to get dirty before the snap em.

You asked about my tank top... The brand is "NC-17." I found it in a adult store in town. There were many funny tanks, but I wanted boy shorts for the bottoms, not floss. So I chose that shirt. I keep trying to find them online, but with the name... I haven't had much luck and the store no longer carries them.