Thursday, January 04, 2007

Out of the mouths of adults

Said to my niece earlier this morning:

Before we go to the orientation, I'd really like it if you put a brush through that hair.

It's no big deal, those words, not really, but they are parental and adult enough to make the college student I used to be take a step back and kick the adult I am now. In the shin.

I'd really like it if you put a brush through that hair? When did I become someone who says that? I guess the answer to that is this morning when I saw the tangled mess of her hair and watched her sort of pat it down and look at me in her way that says, Okay, I'm ready. And the sentence just came out of my mouth. I didn't tell her to do so, mind you, just told her I'd like it if she did.

And she did.

Parental manipulation skills? Check.

6 comments:

ghost said...

its in us. prgrammed in the deepest wiring. i never knew what triggered it, but suddenly, there it was, my old man, channeled through me.

Pendullum said...

We all become our mothers... We go kicking and screaming... But somehow through genetics it seeps through our being and spills out of our lips....

Anonymous said...

What I find ironic is that the harder I try to NOT be like my father, the more like him I seem to get.

Surely, someone, somewhere is laughing about that.

Anonymous said...

Oops, that was me, not an anonymous blog-stalker person.

Sorry!

Linda@VS said...

The fact that she did it shows she respects your opinion. She didn't need to prove her independence, so you must have said it exactly the right way.

Anonymous said...

Yep, women are hard-wired to become their mothers! It's amazing how strong those 'mothering' genes are. Sounds like it shocked you more than it did her. :)