Have you ever been doing some ordinary or minuscule task and immediately stopped what you were doing in pure shock and sometimes horror? Then immediately after the initial shock the next words, “Oh my God, I’m turning to my (insert parent name here)”, came uttering out of your mouth? If you haven’t experienced this scenario yet, no worries because as you grow older in age it tends to happen more often than not.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents for all their amazing traits and quirks, but when I start acting and saying things like them, it creeps me out. “Oh no! I’m turning into my Dad”, is the one I feel myself saying way too frequently.
Here are the five signs you'll experience when realizing you are turning into your parents:
1. You Start Using Their Jokes
For me, the moment you have to accept you have become one of your parents is when you start using their jokes. For instance, for the 23 years, my sister has walked on this earth, her name has been Amy Elizabeth Tamburri. However, my Dad thinks it is just hilarious to call her “Amy E-Loser-Beth."
I am ashamed and embarrassed to share this with you all, but just last week I called a friend of mine with the made up middle name “E-Loser-Beth” instead of Elizabeth. Chalk one point up for turning into Dad!
2. Their Moral Values Are Your Moral Values
This one can be taken in many different ways. Whether it be political views, religious views, or just how to conduct yourself around others, your parent’s influences slowly begin making their way into your head. For example, my mom’s classic phrase before anyone is about to leave the house is “Make good choices."
Whenever I leave the house she has to tell me to “Make good choices," and it doesn’t matter where or what I am about to go do. I mean I could be leaving for church but still get this phrase thrown toward my direction. Now whenever my friends leave to go do something, I catch myself telling them to “Make good choices."
3. You've Adopted Their Weird Expressions
Every family has their weird expressions that only their family will understand. However, more often than not, it is usually passed down from one of your parents. If you’ve ever sat with me while eating and I happen to spill something on my shirt, you can bank on the expression “Your mother’s ass!” being screamed out from me.
Guess who I adopted that weird expression from? Thanks, Dad! No matter what we are eating, my Dad seems to always drop something on his shirt. And without hesitation, he always yells out, “your mother’s ass,” in an angry upsetting voice. No one knows why or how this expression came about, but if you were a fly on the wall, you’d be able to hear the expression yelled, at least, three times a week in the Tamburri kitchen.
4. Their Cooking Habits Become Your Cooking Habits
The cook in my family is my Mom, and over the years, she has made some creative tricks and tips for herself in the kitchen. Although I am not allowed to give away any of her famous recipes, I can confidently say that when I am in the kitchen I tend to recreate my mother’s cooking techniques. For some reason though it never comes out exactly the same. I think she is leaving out one or two secret ingredients in a couple dishes!
5. You Take On Their Physical Features
Unfortunately, it happens to the best of us. As people grow older, so does their physical appearances. Whether you start going bald, growing larger (height-wise or width-wise), or your eyesight starts to go, you'll start looking more and more like your parents as you grow older. For me, I’ve taken on the physical characteristics of my Dad when he was a young lad. I am just hoping I don’t go bald like him!
When it’s all said and done, yes, we may be turning into our parents, but is it really so bad? We are embracing the people we love the most. Although they do things that may be a little quirky, we tend to love those weird features about them. So the next time you stop yourself and say "Oh no! I'm turning into my (insert parent name here)," stop and laugh. Maybe it's not so bad after all!
