When you realise that you are your mum’s clone

Feeling like the world's first cloned sheep, this fluffy icon stares into the distance, embodying the essence of being a pioneer in your mum's cloning.

That moment when you realise that you have turned into your mother. You never meant to and you cant pinpoint the exact moment that it happened. You just know that it has happened. You are your mother. Once the realisation hits, first you don’t know how to feel, then you experience the devastation followed by disappointment and finally acceptance.

My moment of realisation was when I said to one of the kids,

“Because I said so. Do I look like I have buffoon written across my forehead?”

It stopped me dead in my tracks, I was finally her, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing but you grow up thinking that you would be different or that you would develop your own parenting style and then, in that one moment you realise. No, you are your mum cloned. It is quite eye opening, you start to question and compare all of your parenting, do I do anything differently? Then it hits you, you do bed time the same, 7 pm in bed whether they want to go or not. Always eat dinner together, might not any other meal, but dinner you sit down as a family. This is the time when anything that is bothering them they get a chance to say. So like I say, its not all bad being your mums mini.

But then you realise you also have a temper and like things done in a certain way otherwise it grates on your patience.  My mum was a clean freak and has been known to clean the grout on her floor tiles with a toothbrush, this one is a bit much for me, I tend to celebrate the skirting boards.

The other saying that came out of my mouth was

“If you are well enough to get out of bed, then you are well enough to go to school.”

A dancer elegantly leaps through the air, enveloped in a dramatic plume of talcum powder just like we used to.

This one we both lived by. My sisters and I had used all the tricks in the book so mine never stood a chance. We used to hold our head against the radiator to mimic a temperature. Dusting your face with talc to make sure you looked pale was another classic, this rarely worked, I think it was because we had to do it quick we always forgot our hands. I always did wonder why she would ask to see our hands every time she said we looked pale.

You do feel bad though when the school phones at 9.30 am and asks you to collect your child because they are not well. Deep down you knew they weren’t well enough but they wanted to get their toys out so you send them to school to see if it passes. It doesn’t pass. They are being sick and should have never left the house. The guilt is bad.

On about the kids being ill, my sister and I lied to the school once, first time we had ever done it and told them that they were ill so we all could go to a wedding. We all went and had a beautiful day with amazing people. The following week both mine and my sisters kids were really ill, we never lied about them being unwell again.

So yes, be careful or we might all turn into mini clones of our mum’s.