When you grow up...

Do you remember your mom saying to you "I hope you get a child just like yourself when you become a parent", after you had done something bad? My middle school years were pretty miserable and I put my parents through hell. I'm pretty sure if my mom wasn't saying this to me, she was thinking it.

I have 2 brothers. Mark (on the right) is 9 years older than me. Kevin (on the left) is 8 years older. Because of the age difference they were almost like Uncles when I was going through my terrible teens. Neither lived at home than. When they did live at home, I can remember the fights, the arguments and the teasing. I remember some of the trouble they got into, but I'm sure there is WAY more than I remember.

My mom with her 3 kids.

It's not the best picture but here we are!

Now that I am a parent with 3 children of my own. Two boys that are 5 and 6 years older than my daughter, I wonder if my mom was saying "I hope you get a child just like yourself when you become a parent" or if she was REALLY saying "I hope you get a child like yourself AND you get your brothers when you become a parent". Because somehow that's what happened!

Me and my 3.

(Taken just after my hair got cut REAL short! Yikes!)

The similarities are sometimes freaky. When they were little my parents would look at them so adoringly and I just knew that they were taken back in time and not seeing their grandsons, but seeing their own sons when they were that age. They used to laugh and tease me that I had my own Mark and Kevin. It was kind of cool. It made them being grandparents of these two adorable little boys even more special. Sometimes they even mistakenly called them by my brothers names.

Than the boys started getting older and I started noticing they had more in common with my brothers than just the age difference between the two of them. Most days are good. And some days they push me to the limit. I share these days with my parents. They, of course, love to hear anything to do with their grandkids. Most times my mom is laughing as I'm sharing what they have gotten into or done. I know she can't wait to get off the phone and have a good laugh with my dad. Afterall, they've been through it.

So why did I get my brothers and they didn't? I think it's because God knew the thing I wanted most was to be a mom. I wanted kids and I wanted to love them as I had been loved growing up. So he gave me the same as he gave my parents.

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Haven't figured Autumn out yet. My parents still look at her and see me at that age. We shall see as she get's older if I really did get all three!

Happy Mother's Day!