When I was a kid, my mom always went into an organizing frenzy before we left on a trip. She supervised everyone's packing so we wouldn't leave anything important at home--like underwear. She packed every over-the-counter medication we owned in ziploc bags. (When we tease her about being a traveling pharmacy, she always reminds us of a time when she had a medicine we needed.) She also did something I didn't understand at all at the time: she cleaned the house. Well, it being my mom's house, it was clean to start with, but she gave the house a once-over before we left: did the dishes, made the beds, and vacuumed.
I thought she was crazy. All of this took up precious time when we could be closer to our destination: a motel with cable and a pool. Why not just leave the house the way it was and take care of cleaning it when we got back?
Also, in the middle of the frenzy, Mom would be noticeably tense. We had to be careful what we said to her, or she'd bite our heads off. I didn't understand this, either. We were going on a VACATION. What was there to be mad about?
Now, twenty-something years later, I would like to apologize to my mother for not understanding how she felt. I understand now. This afternoon I yelled at the kids numerous times for continuing to get out more toys when I had just cleaned up. I vacuumed and ran the dishwasher. Tomorrow I will break out the ziploc bags. I have become my mother.
And really, that's not such a bad thing.
***
I'll be back on Friday. Until I "talk" to y'all, have a great week!
That is so me. I clean before we leave and pull out those baggies. I use the gallon ones for the big stuff. I don't like for things to spill and leave a mess. Enjoy your trip and have loads of fun!
ReplyDeleteIt's the circle of life. Seriously. I call and apologize to my mother daily.
ReplyDeleteUnderwears are truly important! There was once I forgot on my trip and from then on I got used to wearing disposable ones...hmmm...
ReplyDeletethat's why parents (over here) often say, "you won't understand, till you become a parent...."
I would clean but it just doesn't work out. Sniff.
ReplyDeleteI love it. I too find myself being my mother, whihc I have to say is not as bad as it would have seemed at 16.. if you had told me then that we would have ANYTHING in common, I might have slit my writs. Now, I take it as a compliment.
ReplyDeleteIt's all about responsibility. You're going on vacation to get away from it, so you don't want to get smacked with it when you walk back into your house! You want everything all taken care of so you can rest up from your vacation. Because that's the other thing you learn as a parent: Why your parents were so worn out after vacations.
ReplyDeleteI had a smile on my face after reading this:) It is so true our moms are not and never were the nuts we thought they were. Heres to my kids becoming me.
ReplyDeleteThis post really hit home for me. Isn't it funny how we've adopted a lot of the things that we found horrifying about our parents when we were kids? Hope you guys have a great trip! And enjoy that clean house when you return. :-)
ReplyDeleteHow great when we can turn around and realize that our mothers WEREN'T crazy!!! :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your SITS Day!!!! Enjoy!
Hi visiting from SITS!
ReplyDeleteI think we all become our mothers in some way or another.
I'm constantly apologizing to my mom.
Congrats on being the SITS featured blogger!!!
ReplyDeleteThat was my mother, that is me... I think my mom was always afraid we would have an accident or something & people would come to the house & think we were pigs. It was the "just in case cleaning".
ReplyDeleteP.S. congrats on being featured on SITS!
ReplyDeleteI wiah I knoew if I was like my mother, but hey I do the same as you. It's just so nice when you come home and everything is tidy. It adds to the sense of feeling good to be home.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on being the SITS girl of the day!
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the SITS luv!!!
What a way to return from a vacaton, right?
I can relate to your situation here. I've found myself doing the same thing. (I wonder what stories my daughters will have to tell?)
Have you found yourself spitting on a hankie and cleaning the chocolate away from your childrens' mouths yet? . . .
ReplyDeleteHave you found yourself spitting on a hankie and cleaning the chocolate away from your childrens' mouths yet? . . .
ReplyDeleteHey, here from SITS, congrats! Also, currently on vacation with 4 kids, 17 ziploc bags, 1 gallon of OTC meds, and 1 clean house at home. I TOTALLY get it!!!!
ReplyDeleteI can relate. I once took my much younger brother and his friend to an amusement park and was completely destroyed by the end of the day. I later called my mom and apologized for ever making her do that.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny. I think we all do that when we get older. Cograts on being featured.
ReplyDeleteI completely do this too. My husband thinks I'm nuts. I also bag all of our toiletries just in case something explodes (it hasn't to date, but you never know...)
ReplyDeleteCongrats on being featured today! Hope your vacay is fun!
Like heather said, I call and apologize to my mom atleast once a week! That sounded EXACTLY like our house before a vacation!
ReplyDeleteWe're about to have our first big family vacation next month, and that will so be me!
Me too!! My husband gets frustrated because the last thing I have to do is change the sheets on the beds. Thanks for making me feel more normal and congrats on being today's SITS blog!!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your day in the spotlight SITSta! I'm a regular reader already, so I know how great you are. :-) Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteHi! Congrats on the win! I still hope NOT to be like my mom and I am almost 30! If you've ever seen the movie Mermaids, with Cher, you'd understand. My moms idea of lunch was o'dourves. And the most important thing to do before she left the house was put on her make-up. Seriously.
ReplyDeleteOMG! I think I may be your mother. Did she also write out the dosages for said medicine on the ziplock bag? Because I do - that way if it is not me giving med then that person will know how much to give the princesses. I may be crazy?!?!
ReplyDeleteI also say on a regular basis "do you want to send me to Bryce (crazy hospital) because that is where I am going if you do not stop _____" The first time I said it I realized that I had become my mother!
Julie
I find myself apologizing to my mom on a regular basis for one of the many things I used to think she was crazy for doing. Now I see, she wasn't crazy. Just smart. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the spotlight!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how to pack without ziplock baggies. And I am always bringing every medication ever made. Just in case. But the cleaning...not so much...
ReplyDeleteArggg! I remember having to do the once over on the house before my Grandparents came! I always thought that was starnge because if my Grammy had raised my mother, didn't she already know she fell slightly to the sloppy side, what was with the big production, and why was it OUR job!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day : )
I never understood my mom doing that either until I was a mom getting ready for vacation! Have fun!
ReplyDeleteHi! I came over through SITS, and love your blog.
ReplyDeleteNot only is my perfect day surprisingly similar to yours, I do indeed pack a ton of stuff in Ziplocks every time we take a trip.
Kind of makes me wonder if Ziplock is looking for Bloggers for a little off-label marketing...
Vacation for moms is never really a vacation...ugh!
ReplyDeleteI'm SUCH a last minute packer and I hate it... But I do always end up running around cleaning, doing laundry, and packing both my and my boyfriend's suitcases. I would go nuts if I didn't take charge. To give him credit, he's always willing to he
ReplyDeleteHe holds the tickets though. I am a great one for setting stuff like that down and wandering off.
I apologizeto my mom ALL THE TIME! Unfortunately, I still don't pack very well.
ReplyDeleteI have turned in to my mother as well. However, we often do leave with a few dirty dishes in the sink- win some, lose some.
ReplyDeleteI love coming home to a clean house after a vacation cause that's the last thing I want to do. Good for your mom. She had her head on straight. Sometimes it is a good thing for us to be like our mothers.
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny how we become our Mothers! And you're right, it's not such a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteOh lord yes...I remember the day I looked in the mirror and found my mother staring back at me...it was the little frown between the eyes that was the dead giveaway...I now know that it wasn't worry that caused it especially, it was concentration...don't forget this that and the other thing...how I miss her...
ReplyDeleteSandi
oh I'm SO my mother too. Hell, when I went to Disney, I packed daily outfits in the big Ziplocs. I need help. Enjoy your trip!
ReplyDeleteAmen. Vacation takes on a whole new meaning when you have to clean the house, figure out what you are doing with the pets, and pack for the whole family. (Except for the hubby, which to his utter dismay, has to pack for himself because I am NOT his mother!!!)
ReplyDeleteThat was one of my mom's biggest things, wanting to come home to a clean house.
ReplyDeleteI can really appreciate that now. It takes away some of the stress.
Is it the fear that something tragic will happen while you're gone - like a leak or a car wreck or a tree falling into the house - and strangers will have to come IN to your house while you are not there- and you want to be sure that those strangers get the idea that you are a PERFECT housekeeper. Oh - and the big bag of medicines - totally me too.
ReplyDeleteI have become my mother, too. Not only do I possess lots and lots of her personality traits, but when I look in the mirror, I see my Mom, too. Congrats on attaining SITS Featured Blogger status, and enjoy your vacation!
ReplyDeletecongrats on being featured on SITS!! have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteThis is so very true. I am understanding her by the bucket-fulls. That is so not a word, but it seemed to apply.
ReplyDeleteI swear EVERYONE is traveling today! God Bless Moms, right???
ReplyDeleteAnd I admitted to my mom countless times that, yeah, she was ALWAYS right and sorry I gave her hell. SOOOOO sorry! :)
Congrats on being the SITS site of the day!
ReplyDeletethank goodness for moms. I appreciate mine more and more every day.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the SITS nod too!
OMG! That is totally me too...I am a wreck until we are actually on the road on our way...oh, and I clean the house too...who wants to come home to a dirty house??? :)
ReplyDeleteMy mom does the same thing, then she comments, "Doesn't it feel tood to come home to a clean house?" (She also must fully make a bed before getting into it - even if she's putting on clean sheets just before bedtime.)
ReplyDeleteCongrats SITS gal!
ReplyDeleteOMG That is ME to a T! LOL And yeah, I'm my Mom too;)
ReplyDeleteVisiting here from the SITS page...I clean before we leave on vacation too, it's so nice to just be able to come home, throw the bags down, and collapse for a bit. Have a good trip!
ReplyDeleteToo funny - I too clean, snap, and baggie before a trip!
ReplyDeleteIt isn't such a bad thing to turn into our Mom's. I am finding out she was wiser than I thought growing up.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the SITS success! And I love coming home to a clean house!
ReplyDeleteAin't it the truth?!? It is incredible how leaving for a vacation can be so STRESSFUL!!! Love the post apology to your mama--appropriate Ziplos baggie use makes the world a nicer place--or at least contains all the stuff it takes to take this crew on the road!
ReplyDeleteBlessings!