I know this is true, not because I had daughters–I had sons–but because I had a mother, and I know what I did to her. She vented about it regularly.
Well, now that I’m a therapist, I hear other mothers vent. Just like my mother, I’m certain they can’t help themselves. They must vent. Maybe it slows down the looming psychosis . . . who knows?
What I do is listen, give advice, and soooooo understand. One particular mother comes to mind. I’ll call her Tina. She wasn’t concerned about impending psychosis. No, her worry was about aging. “See these gray hairs?” she said. “My daughter is making this happen to me! She’s not aging . . . I am!”
I was already rolling on the floor, but she wowed me with this one:
Salee, I want to stay young enough to enjoy old age.
So, how do you avoid getting gray hairs from your kids?
My teenage daughter told me that I can’t stop coloring my hair until she graduates from high school – so nobody will think I’m her grandma. Then again, my husband says his gray hairs come from me (he didn’t have any 20 years ago when we met). But other than that having a teenage daughter is the most fun I’ve ever had!
Sweeeeet!!
Teenagers go out of their way to make you feel old. My son won’t even let me use certain words or phrases. For example, one time in a conversation I said, “Word,” in response to something, and he just said, “Mom, no.” “No what?” “You can NOT use that word.” I see. I get the same thing when I comment on their FB posts. They just comment back, “Mom.” Teenager code for “Find another planet, please.” That’s why buying stock in Clairol is a good idea. Gray hairs are unavoidable.
They’re earned, aren’t they. All us graying folk should hold our heads high!
I think that this mom is going gray because she’s allowing her daughter to develop her own personality without trying to shape her into something she isn’t. What a great mom!
Wonderful insight! Thanks