Sincerely Yours, Jumana A. Swindler I contributing writer
Who’s
The Parent Now?
Never say “Never,” especially if you are referring to the day
you may turn into one or both of your parents.
When I was youthful and quite naive, (oh… a little more
than a year ago), I held to the completely false notion that I
would not do those very things that annoyed me about my
own parents. It has, however, come to my attention, and quite
frequently I might add, that I have indeed evolved into a
combination of both my father and mother.
You cannot deny genetics, the predisposition to developing
those very same characteristics that once inflicted you with
embarrassment from words of wisdom spewed by your parents or actions that made you grimace when peers were
around during those early years.
“Yep,” agreed Adam - (you know the young man I gave birth
to 30 years ago, who now thinks I act like his grandfather.)
“It’s uncanny. You two really do have more similarities the
older you get…” I stopped him short.
“You have got to be kidding,” I barked back. “And don’t roll
your eyes.... They could freeze that way.”
“SEE! SEE!” He said, overly dramatic as always. Where he
gets that trait, I’ll never know. “You proved my point. That’s
just what Jido (‘Granddad’ in Arabic) would say, only with a
Lebanese accent.”
Ignoring the insinuation that I, too, had become a “Grand
Adult” replicating previous generations, I offered to buy him
lunch as a distraction. So, we headed out in my car. “Where
d’ya want to eat?” I asked. He shrugged. “O.K. then, how
about the Chinese Buffet. I know how you love Chinese food.”
“Mom, YOU love Chinese. And so does Jido, I might add…”
I retorted immediately with, “Don’t ‘add’…. I’m paying and
you’ve always LOVED Chinese food.”
In his calculated way of always keeping the argument going,
which he gets from his father, Adam said, “I never said I loved
100
June 2014
it. You said I loved it just ‘cause one day I commented about
how much I enjoy egg rolls. Then, you and Jido came up with
the idea that the Chines R'VffWBv2גff