"Your Momma" jokes
I remember when I was in elementary school that "your momma" jokes were a big thing. They often went something like this...
"Your momma.....(fill in the blank with something juvenile-yet-offensive about that person's momma)"
The next kid replies, "oh yeah, well, your momma...(fill in the blank with something equally as juvenile about that person'a momma)"
And then the crowd surrounding the two kids would all be like, "OOOOO!"
And well, that was about the end of it.
So yeah.
"Your momma" jokes were probably the most juvenile thing since the cootie shot, but for some reason, school-kids thought it was cool - unless they were referring to your momma, of course.
So it makes me wonder, Why were "your momma" jokes even a thing? Like, why wasn't it "your daddy" jokes?
Perhaps, it's because if someone made fun of our daddy's, we'd just be like "yeah that's not true, my dad can beat up your dad" and call it a day. We'd know that our daddies can defend themselves. They don't need our help.
Mommas are different.
They are more fragile.
They need our support.
Don't get me wrong. I bet some mommas out there can throw down a fight in no time flat.
But guess what I'm getting at is this:
If you mess with my daddy, my daddy can take care of himself.
But if you mess with my mommy, you mess with me. Why? Our moms have a unique bond with us. Not superior to the bond we have with our daddies. Hard to explain exactly, but let's just settle on this idea: the bond we have with a daddy and the bond we have with a mommy, well, they're just different from one another.
----
My husband and I were both blessed to be born into Christian families that were in tact, in that, there was a mommy and a daddy, they were married & committed to one another, and they loved each other a lot. For reasons far beyond our understanding and calculations, God decided to take our families on much different routes from there...
My husband's mom was diagnosed with cancer and quickly passed on to Heaven within a matter of months. He was only 12 years old at the time.
I. can't. even. imagine.
In stark contrast, my mom has always been there for me. Always. In fact, I don't even know how many times I've taken my mom for granted over the years. Probably just as many, if not more, times as my husband wished he still had his mom here on Earth.
Why do I do that?
Why do I take my mom for granted?
Why do we all take our moms for granted sometimes?
Why do our kids take us for granted (cue inner voice: "If only you kids realized how much I do for you!")?
Ladies, our moms are a big deal. Let's just stop and all acknowledge that for a moment.
And I believe, God intended it to be that way. That's why we're taking some time today to reflect on the moms we had growing up and thank God (and thank them!) for them.
Our moms have influenced and do influence us in so, so many ways. In some ways, they knit some of the very fabrics of who we are (and for some of us, they knit the actual fabrics of the clothes we wore back-in-the-day... pictures are not necessary for proof... we'll just take a moment of silence and take everyone's word for it that it did happen).
Not only have our moms had a huge hand in influencing who we did (and didn't) become, they also gave us the blueprint for what and how to do in all-things-motherly, without even saying a word.
Some things we do as grown-up-mommies, we do simply because our mom did them that way.
For instance, I change and wash all the bed sheets in my house every Saturday. EVERY. Saturday. Why? because my mom did. every Saturday. as I was growing up. When I became a mom, did she tell me to do that? No. That would be both weird and borderline silly. So she didn't tell me to do it with words, but with her actions & over all that time in my growing-up years, she did. So it's a fact. Some things we do as grown-up-mommies, we do simply because our mom did them that way. Like the fact that thankfulness is always rolling off my lips, and the USPS has been able to keep its doors open sheerly from the amount of postage paid on all the thank you cards that have gotten mailed out from my houses over the years. [Come to think of it: I'm starting to ask myself, Did I start this #ThessaloniansThursday #ThankfulThursday blog as a subconscious overflow of how I was taught to be thankful all those years? "in everything give thanks" Perhaps. I. did. Hmmm... ]
On the flip side, some things we do as grown-up-mommies, we do simply because our mom did NOT do them that way. An example for me is this: I make my kids clean up around the house. They have a responsibility to do so, and they know it. Growing up, my mom did everything for all of us... all 5 kiddos plus mom plus dad. That's an incredible amount of serving, but it's also an incredible amount of stress too. I didn't learn how to do my own laundry until I was about 23 and moved out of town to attend grad school and a roommate felt sorry for me. I want something different for my kids. (In all honesty, I want something different for me as a mom as well. #lifttheload #oflaundry) So this is just one example (of many examples) of things that I do simply because my mom didn't do it that way. And it's not just limited to chore lists; those are just the first examples that came to mind for me. I'm sure you have your own list of the things you do and don't do like your mother and because of your mother as well.
So our moms impacted us as little people, and our moms continue to impact us as moms-to-little-people.
So the silly stuff.
The serious stuff.
All the stuffs.
Do you see where I'm going here?
Like it or not, next to nothing we do as moms today is neutral or disconnected from the way our moms were with us.
In some ways, we are nothing like our mothers. (Just ask us, we'll be the first to tell you so.)
And in some ways, we are exactly like our mothers. (Just ask your husband, he'll be the first to tell you so.)
Whether you had a Godly mom who imparted wisdom to you as you were growing up or not, you can thank God for her and what all she taught you, for better or for worse. Thankfully, no matter what our personal experiences with our moms are, God gives us ample examples of mothers in the Bible.
(Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Rachel, Leah, Hannah, Bathsheba, Mary, Lois, to name a few) Take some time this week to study some of their stories more in depth & thank God for those mom examples and non-examples given to us in the Bible as well.
No matter what, make today the day you stop taking your momma for granted.
Thank God for the mom you have - flaws, quirks, Godliness, and all. Thank God for the mom you have.
And perhaps, while you're at it, mail her a thank you card for all she's done. It be may the smallest token of thanks for all she's ever done in your whole entire life, but I guarantee you, she'll hold that token close to her heart for as long as she lives.
And if you're feeling extra-thankful....I forget the exact source of this idea, but I once read that you should consider taking a birthday present TO your mom on YOUR birthday.
After all, when you were born, she was there too.
And that, ladies, we know is no joke.
"Your momma.....(fill in the blank with something juvenile-yet-offensive about that person's momma)"
The next kid replies, "oh yeah, well, your momma...(fill in the blank with something equally as juvenile about that person'a momma)"
And then the crowd surrounding the two kids would all be like, "OOOOO!"
And well, that was about the end of it.
So yeah.
"Your momma" jokes were probably the most juvenile thing since the cootie shot, but for some reason, school-kids thought it was cool - unless they were referring to your momma, of course.
So it makes me wonder, Why were "your momma" jokes even a thing? Like, why wasn't it "your daddy" jokes?
Perhaps, it's because if someone made fun of our daddy's, we'd just be like "yeah that's not true, my dad can beat up your dad" and call it a day. We'd know that our daddies can defend themselves. They don't need our help.
Mommas are different.
They are more fragile.
They need our support.
Don't get me wrong. I bet some mommas out there can throw down a fight in no time flat.
But guess what I'm getting at is this:
If you mess with my daddy, my daddy can take care of himself.
But if you mess with my mommy, you mess with me. Why? Our moms have a unique bond with us. Not superior to the bond we have with our daddies. Hard to explain exactly, but let's just settle on this idea: the bond we have with a daddy and the bond we have with a mommy, well, they're just different from one another.
----
My husband and I were both blessed to be born into Christian families that were in tact, in that, there was a mommy and a daddy, they were married & committed to one another, and they loved each other a lot. For reasons far beyond our understanding and calculations, God decided to take our families on much different routes from there...
My husband's mom was diagnosed with cancer and quickly passed on to Heaven within a matter of months. He was only 12 years old at the time.
I. can't. even. imagine.
In stark contrast, my mom has always been there for me. Always. In fact, I don't even know how many times I've taken my mom for granted over the years. Probably just as many, if not more, times as my husband wished he still had his mom here on Earth.
Why do I do that?
Why do I take my mom for granted?
Why do we all take our moms for granted sometimes?
Why do our kids take us for granted (cue inner voice: "If only you kids realized how much I do for you!")?
Ladies, our moms are a big deal. Let's just stop and all acknowledge that for a moment.
And I believe, God intended it to be that way. That's why we're taking some time today to reflect on the moms we had growing up and thank God (and thank them!) for them.
Our moms have influenced and do influence us in so, so many ways. In some ways, they knit some of the very fabrics of who we are (and for some of us, they knit the actual fabrics of the clothes we wore back-in-the-day... pictures are not necessary for proof... we'll just take a moment of silence and take everyone's word for it that it did happen).
Not only have our moms had a huge hand in influencing who we did (and didn't) become, they also gave us the blueprint for what and how to do in all-things-motherly, without even saying a word.
Some things we do as grown-up-mommies, we do simply because our mom did them that way.
For instance, I change and wash all the bed sheets in my house every Saturday. EVERY. Saturday. Why? because my mom did. every Saturday. as I was growing up. When I became a mom, did she tell me to do that? No. That would be both weird and borderline silly. So she didn't tell me to do it with words, but with her actions & over all that time in my growing-up years, she did. So it's a fact. Some things we do as grown-up-mommies, we do simply because our mom did them that way. Like the fact that thankfulness is always rolling off my lips, and the USPS has been able to keep its doors open sheerly from the amount of postage paid on all the thank you cards that have gotten mailed out from my houses over the years. [Come to think of it: I'm starting to ask myself, Did I start this #ThessaloniansThursday #ThankfulThursday blog as a subconscious overflow of how I was taught to be thankful all those years? "in everything give thanks" Perhaps. I. did. Hmmm... ]
On the flip side, some things we do as grown-up-mommies, we do simply because our mom did NOT do them that way. An example for me is this: I make my kids clean up around the house. They have a responsibility to do so, and they know it. Growing up, my mom did everything for all of us... all 5 kiddos plus mom plus dad. That's an incredible amount of serving, but it's also an incredible amount of stress too. I didn't learn how to do my own laundry until I was about 23 and moved out of town to attend grad school and a roommate felt sorry for me. I want something different for my kids. (In all honesty, I want something different for me as a mom as well. #lifttheload #oflaundry) So this is just one example (of many examples) of things that I do simply because my mom didn't do it that way. And it's not just limited to chore lists; those are just the first examples that came to mind for me. I'm sure you have your own list of the things you do and don't do like your mother and because of your mother as well.
So our moms impacted us as little people, and our moms continue to impact us as moms-to-little-people.
So the silly stuff.
The serious stuff.
All the stuffs.
Do you see where I'm going here?
Like it or not, next to nothing we do as moms today is neutral or disconnected from the way our moms were with us.
In some ways, we are nothing like our mothers. (Just ask us, we'll be the first to tell you so.)
And in some ways, we are exactly like our mothers. (Just ask your husband, he'll be the first to tell you so.)
Whether you had a Godly mom who imparted wisdom to you as you were growing up or not, you can thank God for her and what all she taught you, for better or for worse. Thankfully, no matter what our personal experiences with our moms are, God gives us ample examples of mothers in the Bible.
(Eve, Sarah, Hagar, Rachel, Leah, Hannah, Bathsheba, Mary, Lois, to name a few) Take some time this week to study some of their stories more in depth & thank God for those mom examples and non-examples given to us in the Bible as well.
No matter what, make today the day you stop taking your momma for granted.
Thank God for the mom you have - flaws, quirks, Godliness, and all. Thank God for the mom you have.
And perhaps, while you're at it, mail her a thank you card for all she's done. It be may the smallest token of thanks for all she's ever done in your whole entire life, but I guarantee you, she'll hold that token close to her heart for as long as she lives.
And if you're feeling extra-thankful....I forget the exact source of this idea, but I once read that you should consider taking a birthday present TO your mom on YOUR birthday.
After all, when you were born, she was there too.
I cook like my mom. I mostly cook from taste. I don't use recipes most of the time. I just cook because I watched her all those years. Wesley says it is just in my blood. But I am more adventurous about trying new things than she was, and I put my own spin on her classics. However, my mom's food still tastes the best!! I hug and kiss and tell my kids I love them because that is what she always did and still does. You just never have to doubt it because she always tells you. Homeschooling is a complete departure from the way I was raised. But she did work hard to make sure that I had the very best Christ centered education I could have. A decision that my parents made that set me off in the right direction, a firm foundation that I'm grateful for every single day!!
ReplyDelete