I talked to my daughter last night. She first talked to her Dad, they spoke for almost one-half hour, all about the fun things she's doing, the exciting things that are happening in her life. I get on the phone, the first words out of her mouth "I'm sick again".
Ugh, I tell you, my relationship with her is so different than the one she has with her father. I will never understand it. She went on to tell me she wants her tonsils out this summer. I asked her to please go to the health center and have her throat checked for strep throat again. She has already had it twice this year and I don't want it to turn into mono. I also harped at her about taking care of herself. I asked her to please stop staying out so late and try to get more sleep. I heard myself saying the same things my mother used to tell me when I was 21. I never listened to that advice and I know she won't either.
For those of you that think that mothering stops when your child goes off to college or is on their own, it doesn't. A mother's job is never done.
My friend at work posted this great video on her page today. It's a hilarious look at what we say as parents everyday.
As I read this today...I think I do understand it. I've always been the caretaker. I've been the one she goes to when she's sick. I stayed home with her when she was little and nursed her back to her health. I've been the one that's talked to her about sex and all the bad things that could happen to her. I've been the buffer between she and her Dad. Her Dad is the provider, the one that does the fun stuff. So therein, lies the difference in our relationship.
