the mom curse

we called it THE MOM CURSE when we were kids. maybe you've never heard it (lucky if that's so!). we were a rowdy bunch, and when we were being particularly horrible, at some point she'd shake her head and quietly say "I hope someday you have kids exactly like you."

needless to say, as we grew older, it sounded increasingly ominous. we'd find ourselves pausing in the middle of contemplating some incredibly heinous teen prank because those words just seemed to echo through our consciences. we weren't angels, by any measure of the yardstick, but it sure did cramp our teen style.

okay, so we grew up and several of us got married. unbelievable as it may have seemed back then, now we're the parents. and we find ourselves intoning those same words. our kids, when they get together with the cousins, talk about THE MOM CURSE in the same hushed tones we did at their ages.

the funny thing is, our kids are so different. i tell them about some of the stupid things we did, and they often are amazed that i survived to become a parent. (but haven't we all tried driving down tantalus at night without headlights? the fact that i didn't have a license at the time was, um, an oversight.) i never have to worry that my own kids will do any of those things. i am often astounded at some of the things they do, but i also know that i don't have half the sleepless nights my parents did.

every time i find myself saying THE MOM CURSE, i thank god i had such great parents, and hope i can do as good a job as they did. (you can't blame the factory for how the results turn out, you can only hope you find the problem and solve it.)