I am at that stage in life/age where I find myself scratching my head a lot and saying things like, oh wow, my mom used to say that or I sound just like my mom. The truth is, I think we all reach a point in life where our past meets our present and sometimes it’s scary, but also hilarious.
As a mom of three, I can’t help but laugh every time I hear myself saying these things to my own children now.
“The kitchen is closed.” My kids eat pretty much what seems like NONSTOP. This is super frustrating especially when they became old enough to start pillaging through the pantry and fridge for their 100th snack of the day. They can get up from the table after eating a very nourishing and well-thought-out meal prepared by none other than yours truly and in 20 minutes they will be telling me they are hungry again. I know this is a common problem for moms around the world and I now completely understand why my mom would proclaim, “The kitchen is closed!” after she was finished cooking for the day. As the oldest of five, I am sure we gave her a hell of a time, looking back. They have the opening and closing hours posted at restaurants, so how come Mom’s kitchen can’t adopt that same philosophy. Be right back, having a sign made on Etsy right now. Ok, in all seriousness, I am very thankful for these growing bodies that I get to feed, but seriously guys chill out on the snacks. “The kitchen is closed!”
“Don’t touch that. It’s so hot it will burn your skin off!” Kids love to touch hot things and it somehow becomes more intriguing to them after they have been told not to. I think this is why we as moms try to dramatize the effects of such dangers. My mom actually used to tell us that if we touched something that came out of the oven, it would burn the skin down to the bone. What a horrifying thought. But of course, I find myself saying a variation of this to my kids. After all, you don’t want them to get burned so why not tell them what touching the hot pan/stove would do. I am about 85% sure this statement won’t traumatize them. Hahaha!
“Do it right the first time.” A mom’s work is never done. When you ask your kid to do something such as make their bed or put away their toys, you kinda want it done right the first time. Otherwise, you just have to go behind them and fix it. Am I right? I will just call this one a teaching moment and try harder to throw in a please and thank you more often when saying this to my kids. “Do it right the first time, please. Thank you.”
“If you are bored, I will find something for you to do.” Truer words were never spoken. A kid saying they are bored is a mom’s dream. “Oh, you’re bored! Well, come and help me with this. We can clean together.” My kids usually find something to do real quick after I suggest this to them. Meanwhile, you’re standing in the other room with a self-satisfied smile thinking…not so bored anymore, are we kids?
“You can always get more.” This is something both Doug and I say to the kids at dinner. When we don’t plate up their food for them and we just set the food out on the table family-style, our kids will go in for the kill and try to grab as much as possible. It’s always followed by one of us saying this to them. Most of the time, their eyes are bigger than their stomachs which happens to be another #momquote. If they had it their way they would pile their plates up and not save any for the rest of us. My mom would always tell us this. Particularly if we were at a buffet line or someone’s house plating up our own food. “You can always get more” accompanied by that good ole mom side eye. You know what I am talking about.
“Leave a place cleaner than you found it.” My mom would always say this when we went anywhere. It definitely stuck because I now have said this to my kids at the grocery store, park, restaurants, church and just about anywhere we go. Not a bad idea. If we all did this, the world would be a much cleaner place. Thanks for that, Mom. Now if this would only work at home as well.
These Mom quotes are now part of my everyday life along with some original ones that I am sure my kids will remind me of in 20 years. Then we can all have a good laugh over the things they never thought they would say to their kids. Until they did. But for now, let’s just laugh about the fact that we all kind of become our parents in some way, shape or form.
I want to hear some of your best #momquotes in the comments!
~xoxo~
Rebecca Roses
