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At What Age Do We Turn Into Our Parents?

Anonymous

When we look back at our childhood I'm sure if your like me you can remember those little phrases that you parents used to come out with that you hated so much, for example "if the wind changes your face will stay like that" or "wait till your father gets home" and what about "if I ever catch you doing that again I'll..." Of course we mustn't forget the now world famous "you're grounded".

My particular favorite was the mono-syllabic telling off when you had done something wrong as you would be getting a well deserved spanking (not that we would in today's so terribly politically correct world) you know , the one where each smack was accompanied by a word...Don't (smack) you (smack) ever (smack) etc etc. and at that those moments with the innocents of youth we vow to ourselves that when we grow up we will never say or do these things to our own children.

So life progresses and we leave school, grow up and get married forgetful of the vows we promised to ourselves in our childhood years and before long we hear the patter of tiny feet (no! not the dog) as we bring into the world our own little bundles of joy and my aren't they so innocent, butter would melt in their mouths.

And then before we know it (whoever said time goes by as you get older was certainly right) our little bundles of joy bloom and grow into not so little children and guess what? They have their own personalities and guess what else? They want to be the boss, and guess what else? They start ignoring the rules and, and, and, and...

At that moment we dig deep into the very fabric of our own personalities look for the biggest weapons in our parental armory and what do we pull out? "Wait till your father gets home" and "if I catch you doing that again you're grounded" etc. etc. and suddenly realization dawns...NOOOOOOOOOOO! You have become the parent you promised yourself you would never be those decades ago.

The first time this happened to me I almost chastised my self as much as my naughty child but in retrospect I now look back at those moments with a little smile on my face wondering what my child would think when they become me.

Think back and ask yourself "when did you first become your parent"? If you're happy to share it please leave a comment so we can all have a little smile and brighten our day.