Like Mother, Like Daughter

The older I get I realize more and more how similar I am to my mom. We certainly have our differences, and are in no way the SAME, but there's a lot about me that reflects who my mom is and what she's about. I came to realize this over the weekend during various activities and things I had to do. I won't go into all of the ways i feel like I'm just like my mom, but my favorite trait I inherited from her is perfectionism.

When my mom and I throw a party, it gets done to the extreme. We both try to make things look the absolute best they can and if it doesn't work out it's never good. I've spent many days early in my marriage sobbing on the floor because a cake flopped over on the floor from being too soft, a recipe tasted nasty, etc. We really like to go "all out." A lot of people think its because we want to impress other people, and there may be a hint of that in there, but it is mostly because we want everyone to have a great experience. Especially if we are throwing a party for someone else.

If you look at the pictures from the baby shower my mom threw for me you can see what I'm talking about. Every little detail was planned to perfection by my mom and I loved it. The cupcakes were beautifully frosted with little flowers piped on top, the diaper cake looked edible (even Tony said it made him want cake), even the games were printed out on scrapbook paper that matched the theme. It was the loveliest party anyone has ever thrown for me. There was nothing about the shower that I would have changed had I done it on my own. I'm really glad I got to go home for that weekend and so grateful that my mom put so much time into the party.

I'm not entirely sure why I wanted to write this post. The whole perfectionism thing has just been on my mind this weekend and I know without a doubt that I got it from my mom. While I like the fact that I inherited the desire to make things "just so" from my mom, I realize that as a mother you can't be a perfectionist. Kids aren't going to listen to you all of the time. I've been trying to tell myself this and learn to let some of my perfectionist tendencies go in preparation for motherhood.

Speaking of motherhood - my due date was a month from yesterday! CRAZY. I have a doctor's appointment today, so we'll see how it goes! I'm getting a bit impatient with this last month of pregnancy. I wish she could just come today.