That’s What She Did

WRITTEN BY ALI SCHWEITZER

I love the conversations with my kids but, as a busy mom, I forget a lot of them. Someone once gifted me a pack of index cards all packaged together in a pretty way and said keep these with you to write down the funny things your kids say, so you remember. Well, I’ll be honest, I threw it away, not because I didn’t think it was a good idea; I just didn’t want to do it. I always want to be present with my kids, and for me that means I don’t take as many photos as I should, and I defiantly don’t write down the funny things they say or the conversations we have. But this recent conversation I had with my 8-year-old son made me stop, laugh and decide to write this story. So here I will recount the funny conversation I had so that I can look back and remember this moment.

Most days after school are the same: we get home, unload backpacks, lunch boxes and talk a bit about our day. However, when the kids are unloading their things, I’m running to my bedroom and taking off my work clothes and putting on sweats and, if I’m superfast, washing my face. Well, the other day when we got out of the car and I said, “Clean out your backpack while I go change,” my son said, “Mom, why do you always change your clothes when you get home? Aurora and I don’t.” This question made me stop and laugh. Not because it was hilarious, but because it took me back to my childhood and my own mom. She always got home and immediately changed into her sweats and washed her face. In fact, I vaguely remember asking her the exact question my son asked me and thinking she was weird and that I would never do that. So, I started thinking about other things I do that my mom (or my dad) did that I was never going to do when I grew up. After answering my son, “Because I want to be comfortable at home so that I can play with you and your sister,” I sat down later and made a list entitled “That’s What She Did”…and here’s what I got (or at least my top three). Again, these are the crazy things my mom did that I was never going to do…but surprise – I do.

First, I change my clothes the minute I get home from work. I don’t even wear uncomfortable clothes to work, but I love my sweats. My mom did this every weekday, and she sported the pink track suit like a pro. As a child I thought she was weird – I mean why would you change more than once during the day? Well, mom, I get it now.

Second, let’s talk music. My parents both listened to the classics, so the drive to school and home was always filled with the Beatles, Johnny Horton, Credence Clearwater Revival and all the other classics. I hated this. I would always ask them to turn on 93.7 so we could listen to the latest hits, but it fell on deaf ears. So, I said over and over again that I was going to be the cool parent who kept up with today’s hits and always listen to the newest music. Umm, guess what I listen to on Sirius XM? ’90s on 9. Today’s music has nothing on what I grew up listening to (and I still even listen to some of those classics from my parents’ day).

Last, the face washing, but you can’t forget the ‘80s sweatband that she sported to pull her hair back. Maybe I never understood the face washing because I didn’t wear makeup, but now there are nights I get home and want nothing more than to clean my face, and I still don’t wear much makeup. I, of course, sport a headband (which is definitely ‘90s inspired) and I have a scrunchie in too. My 3-year-old daughter watches me a lot and chats with me while I wash my face, just like I did when my mom washed hers. I’m counting down the days until she asks me, just like I asked my mom, mid-wash “Mom, how old do you have to be before you stop getting zits?” But unlike my mom’s answer, “When you turn 30,” I’m going to be honest and say “Never!”

So, I guess those shouts of “I’ll never be like you” weren’t true and I am my mother’s daughter. But I’m OK with that, she must have done something right, because I turned out pretty good.

Dr. Ali Schweitzer is owner and chiropractor at Active Family Chiropractic & Wellness. She specializes in pregnancy and pediatric chiropractic care, when she’s not chasing around her own two kiddos.