Like Mother, Like Daughter

It happens in many mother-daughter relationships. Sooner or later, you're going to realize you've turned into your mother. I vowed early in life that I would never, ever be like my mom but, for some reason, it just got passed on in the genes.

I discovered my "I'm just like my mother" behavior when I became a parent. I found myself acting like her in terms of how I disciplined my child and dealt with her peers. My mother was a no-nonsense kind of woman. You clearly understood your boundaries as a child. There was no "I'm your mother and your friend" relationship." I wasn't allowed to associate with certain children because my mother knew their parents and if she didn't know the parents, she had to know them FIRST before I was given permission to associate with their children.

So what prompted me to write this today? A phone call from my college daughter. She told me about an encounter she had with one of her Instructors. As she told me the story of how she challenged her, I smiled as I reflected on a few of my own challenges at Ohio University. I thought to myself, "dear, this is just the beginning."

Then she said something that sounded so familiar, "I can't believe it...I'm turning into you!"

Well, maybe that gene pool wasn't so bad after all :)

Happy Grandparents Day

I am a baby boomer. I am also a grandmother. Today has been designated as a special day for me and millions of others who walk in similar shoes. This is Grandparents’ Day

Grandparent's Day is celebrated in September, on the first Sunday following Labor Day. The idea to create the special day was originated by a woman named Marian McQuade. The West Virginia homemaker and mother of 15 children believed there should be a day to celebrate and honor the lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also hoped to encourage grandchildren to inherit the wisdom and heritage from their grandparents.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter made it a national holiday. National Grandparents Day was first celebrated on Sunday, September 9, 1979.

Some Grandparent facts:

According to the Census Bureau, there are 6.1 million grandparents who have children under 18-years-old living with them. I am a part of that statistic.

Thirty percent of all children are cared for by grandparents whose parents work outside the home.

The average age of a boomer grandparent is 53.4 years old.

Data shows nearly 40 percent of boomers are grandparents. In real numbers, that translates to roughly 30 million.

More than three-quarters (76.5 percent) of boomer grandparents own their homes, and 46.4 percent generate more than $50,000 in household income.

So, if you’re reading this and you’re a grandparent, Happy Grandparents Day and may God continue to give you the strength to persevere.