Growing up is something we all look forward to: getting our license, going on dates, getting into college. One person who is always by our side is our mom. Okay, so some of us may have went through the “I don’t need my mom” stage in our teen years, but at the end of the day, it is our mom who is there through it all.
1. Please try to treat me like an adult.
This one comes anywhere between the age of 13 and, well, 40. Right now, I can hear my mom in the back of my mind saying “I am in my fifties and my mother still tries to tell me what to do! In that case, I can still tell you what to do.” She’s technically not wrong. We have all begged and pleaded to our moms to treat us like the adults, but in college, you really are on your own and forced into acting like an adult. Mom doesn’t always see how you buy your own groceries or spend hours studying for an exam. Mom sees her little girl at a big school miles away and can’t help but treat us like her baby girl when we go home for break.
2. There was this one time when….
“Hey Mom, remember that one time I said I was going to a sleepover? What I didn’t tell you was that I was going to my first ever high school party.” Every girl has a conversation with their mom somewhere along the lines of this one. Let’s face it, in high school, we didn’t tell the truth to our mom all the time. Obviously, we don’t tell our moms where we are going at the time, but once we get to college it is somehow easier to tell her about some of the wacky stuff we did in high school. Of course, some things are to never be mentioned to mom, but most others turn out to be funny stories that our moms may (or may not) laugh at.
3. What would you do in my situation?
I don’t know what I would do without my mom. Particularly, I never went through a “Mom, I can’t stand you” phase. More so, we would just bump heads here and there. In hindsight, my mom has given me the best advice out of anyone I’ve ever known. I think we all forget that mom knows us way better than we know ourselves sometimes. When we find ourselves in compromising situations, one of the first people we usually go to is our mom. Our moms have been through it all: bad grades, failed friendships and terrible break ups. Mom has something to say about everything and usually ends up being our light in the dark as she points us in the right direction.
4. What would you do if I….
Tattoos. Piercings. Impulse buys. Moving away. All of these things scare our moms to death when it comes to their baby girl. Recently, I went through a short phase of strange impulses. When I talked to my mom about my ideas, I asked, “Hey, Mom…what would you do if I got my nose pierced?” Her answer: “Just be prepared to take it out when you come home on weekends. And if it gets infected, I don’t want to hear about it.” I knew the response wouldn’t be what I wanted to hear. But, she’s a mom. She’s saying how she feels and laying down her rules. I have been out of the house for almost two years now, so you would think that I would do my own thing without her consent. Wrong. I asked my mom for a reason about her thoughts on a piercing. Mom may seem harsh sometimes, but when you think back on it, you’ll realize she knew best. Which leads me to my next conversation…
5. Mom, you were right
During those years of unfair punishments or yelling at her to treat you as an adult, it is so easy to look back and see how right our mom was. That boy you thought you liked so much? Mom said he wasn’t good for you, and she was right. When you floundered trying to pay rent for the month, Mom said it would all work out, and she was right. Remember that exam that you bombed? Mom was disappointed, but she told you that this wouldn’t affect the rest of your life. She was right.
So here’s to you, Mom, for always being our rock. Without our conversations, we wouldn’t be who we are today.