A quiet youngster or a rebellious teenager you get to hear few statements from your mom all the time. But it takes a generation after you to understand their meanings. Here’s recapping some comical, some stern and some emotional statements, we hear every day, which may not find meaning today, but “wait till you become parents” as your mother would say and all of it will start making sense.
No matter the time of the day or the occasion, we bet these are some of the statements you keep hearing from your moms. Also, age definitely is just a number for them, so no matter how old you are; these mom-isms are always applicable for you!
“I told you so…”
Every time you try to open cola bottle standing too close to the dining table or the kitchen and being extra careful of the fizz and you get a quick warning from your moms about the same. After being extremely confident that nothing can go wrong, when the fizz bursts out of the bottle spilling over her newly spread table cloth or creating a pool on the kitchen floor comes the sharp snap – “I told you so…” . Moreover, interestingly, now even words may not come out, it’s that fierce look which is enough for you to start making your puppy face. Of course, you are handed over the mop and bucket to clean the mess!
“If you’re going to live under my roof, you’ll follow my rules.”
How many times have you pleaded with your mom to allow you a night out or a night party with friends only to hear a constant and firm No? So many times, even after the proposal being rejected, you try your heart and soul for the last time (which stretches to be multiple last times) in case you can successfully strike a deal for a night out. But then comes the statement you absolutely don’t want to hear - “If you’re going to live under my roof, you’ll follow my rules.” Can there be any other statement topping it? With a disappointed face, which signifies an end of conversation mode, you head towards your room.
"Don’t make me come in there and find it for you"
“Ma I can’t find my favourite top which was in this drawer” comes a loud howl from you, many times. Your mother, at first, advises you to look through it carefully, taking out each piece at a time so that you can find whatever you are looking for. But after half an hour, and a few piles of clothes all over the room later, comes an even irritated reply from you- “It’s not there”. That’s when this classic mom-ism dialogue reaches you - "Don’t make me come in there and find it for you". With the temperature rising because you cannot find your beloved top you throw in an open challenge; and voila two minutes after she enters the room, your favourite top is in her hands from the pile of clothes lying around. Yes you do get your favourite top back and are also grounded till you neatly fold all the other clothes and arrange them in your drawer.
“There are starving kids who would love to eat that.”
Throwing a tantrum over food by giving a list of items you do not like is a very common scene in every household, during every meal. Mother’s fighting and running after their children to eat spinach or tomatoes and children running away from their mothers because they do not like it at all. That’s when she says her trump statement - “There are starving kids who would love to eat that.” This is just the beginning of the conversation. Then comes verbal essays on the economy, poverty line, begging and more till one is almost slightly terrified and sits down to eat it without another word.
“You’ll understand when you’re older.”
Consider this, you are struggling to keep up with your deadlines and working in an environment which is buzzing with activities, conversations and loud noises. On top of that, you are not being able to gather your thought to put it down the way you like them and that is already raising your level of irritation. Now comes a call from your mother asking if you have eaten lunch. However sweet this gesture is, given the condition you are, you most probably retort with a mumble and the fact that you are busy and to not call you right now. And a very calm response comes from the other end, "You’ll understand when you’re older”. Much that you get engrossed in your deadlines right after, years later when you are alone at home and your children in office, as a worrying parent, you would also make that call and silently acknowledge that you finally understood it.