Mama Says

"It's in the mommy handbook." - my mother
As a child I thought that the mommy handbook was a real thing because my mom spoke of it so often. For example, if she was doing my hair and pulled too tightly, I would complain. Her reply was to tell me that all moms were requried to pull their daughter's hair especially while making ponytails. I never knew how to reply, so I just let her finish pulling my hair. Another time this phrase came up was when I wanted to do something, and she would not let me. Her comment would always be, "Moms are supposed to do things that kids do not like." What was I supposed to say to that? Now that I am older, I know that the handbook is just something she made up, but I still hear the phrase every few days. The mommy handbook was a way for my mom to show me that we were not going to agree on everything. As I continue to get older, the handbook phrase is used jokingly now because we still do not see eye to eye. When she says it, I glare, then smile, knowing that the mommy handbook will be something that I will use on my own children one day. Thank goodness there was not a daddy handbook also!