Tuesday, October 27, 2009

My mom irritates me

My mother does this really annoying thing, where she refers to Porgie and Izzy as "our" children. For example, she wrote me an email that said, "Our baby boy is growing up so fast." I don't know why this bothers me, but it does. It is like she is laying too much claim to him. She has only seen Izzy three times since he was born. He is not "our" baby. He is MY baby.

She also likes to pretend that the kids look like her, which they don't. Shit, my kids don't even look like me. Porgie is a mini version of John, and while Izzy does vaguely resemble me, he looks absolutely nothing like my mother. Once again, I don't know why her comments bother me. Maybe I just get sick of hearing the same inaccurate statements over and over again.

And finally, my mother likes to take credit for all of my kids' admirable qualities. If someone mentions that Porgie is smart, my mother will claim that she takes after her grandma. If someone mentions that Izzy is brave and fearless, she will claim that he takes after his grandma. Gah. It makes me want to scream.

Why do I let these silly comments get under my skin?

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Moms are irritating in general.

Maybe next time she says something like that you can tease her. "You know they're actually my babies, right, mom?"

Laura Marchant said...

Next time they are whining and throwing a fit you should tell her they really remind me of you.

MommyGeekology said...

I think this is just how grandparents are. :s I have issues with how much my mother lays claim to my daughter, too. "She's like a mini me" my mother says. "She's just like me, she's my little soul mate, my best friend" -- they spend their days together, she watches my daughter(s).

It drives me batty. It hurts, too. Way deep down. She'll never understand it though.

Kris said...

Awww I'm sorry. My mom pulls the first one too and hasn't seen Kalila much more than your's has seen Izzy. I just ignore it... bothers me a lot less than other stuff she pulls lol.

Just Jiff said...

My mom calls Bayley "my baby girl." It doesn't bother me, though, because Bayley has turned my mother into a much better person.

I think their intentions are good and they are just so proud to be grandmas. You know, 30 years from now you're going to be saying the SAME things to your grandkids. LOL.

dani said...

i can empathize with you, christy:/ as mine has the ability to get on my last nerve as well. i have found that the best thing to do is to let the irritating go in one ear and out the other... or just say... "right:?", ha!!!
love,
dani

Your California Pal Who Doesn't Want Her Own Mother To Read This.... said...

my mom has a whole room with toys and clothes and everything for my kids. it's sick. it's like when they go there, they become hers. personally, she making up for her vast mistakes she made when we were kids, but still. it's bizarre, and i hate it.

amanda said...

why do we let the comments get under our skin. we know better.

but there are days friend when her words eat under my skin all flippin day.

Kate Coveny Hood said...

This would drive me crazy. I found that relatives in general love to say that your kids resemble someone one "their side" of the family no matter what.

You may want to look at your mom's comments from a different perspective though. Maybe you should just feel sorry for her - sounds like she's trying to make connections that aren't there. It's a little sad really. Annoying - but sad.

Rachel said...

Well my mom gets under my skin too. I am not sure why they do but they do. I hope I dont get under my kids skin when they grow up.

moo said...

my mom refers to Dash as "her" baby. It is SERIOUSLY annoying.

I always have to take a deep breath and let it go. I try to spin it a different way: "isn't it wonderful that they are going to have such an awesome, special relationship!?"

yeah, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

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