Life: Falling far from the tree

My mom was in town a few weeks ago for a trip I had been planning for her that she had no clue about.  I told her that for spring break I wanted her to come visit us so we could spend some time together. She relished at the thought that she was going to come to Southern Cali to spend time with her only daughter. Throughout my life my mom had mentioned that she had always wanted to go to the San Diego Zoo but never had the opportunity to.  I had recently spoken to my hubby about my mom's desire and since his vacation didn't get approved he thought what a wonderful way for me to spend my spring break.  He insisted that I take my mom not only to the zoo but somewhere else she might enjoy.  (See I told you he's pretty wonderful.)  Once I went to pick her up at the half way point my dad and I had agreed on I told her that the following day we were going to go on a special trip but didn't mention to her where we were going.  Once we got closer to our destination she began to get teary eyed as she told me once more that she had always wanted to go there.  We had a great time on our special mother daughter getaway.  I took her around to the zoo and around San Diego and we stayed at one of our favorite hotels.  The next day we came home but before we got here we stopped at the San Juan Capistrano Mission somewhere where she had never been to but she truly loved.

In the few days that we spent together I realized that as much as I say that my mom and I are nothing alike I'm only lying to myself.  I have always seen my mom as a very charismatic, intelligent, classy, elegant, and for lack of another word a true definition of a lady.  I mean I'm not the only one that believes it since that's all I've ever been told by others.  Whenever I go visit my mom's hometown in Mexico everyone attest to her fashionista ways, her grace, and her beauty.  I on the other hand have always lacked a sense of style, I'm heavier set (than she was at my age), I hardly wear makeup, I'm blunt (depending on the situation), I speak my mind, etc. etc.  How on earth can someone like me be related to someone like my mom?  I mean how far does the apple really fall from the tree? Well at least that's what I thought until I began to look deeper.

What I lack in my mom's fashionista ways I make up in other things I've "inherited" from her.  I am giving, caring, loving, unselfish, appreciative, kind, resourceful, creativity, patient, and have a passion for helping others. These are all traits that I believe I either learned from her or "inherited" from her.

Since I'm trying to "keep it real" here I'll also tell you about things that I'm not so proud of getting from her.  Spending time with my mom has made me realize that a lot of my bad eating habits come from the way she eats.  Although she spent most of my childhood telling me to watch what I ate because it was going to affect my weight, she did not followed what she preached.  Another thing is the amount of excuses she makes for not exercising which up until recently I had done the same.  Now that I have learned that my eating happens to not have to mirror my parents I can begin to change them.  It was invigorating realizing that I might have learned these bad patterns from my mom but it was up to my to do something about it.  I may not be as fashionable as my mom would like me to be but I am truly grateful to her for all the other traits that I have learned from her and who knows maybe one day I'll exchange my chucks for some stilettos.

If you want to read a great story that made me think about my mom please read this and let me know what you think.