I never thought it would be my son

Virtually all of my teenage life (from Jr. High through high school and beyond) my mom and I wore the same size clothes. This suited me very well because she always had very cute clothes and didn’t mind sharing. She wore my clothes as well so we each had double the wardrobe. As an extra special bonus…we also wore the same size shoes! And since we both consider ourselves to be shoe enthusiasts, we always had lots of cute shoes to choose from and share.

She had certain rules when it came to make-up and dating…rules that I place on my children to this day. Back then, I considered these rules to be rather strict compared to the rules my friends had to follow. By today’s standards, they seem downright oppressive, but they served me well, and they will serve my children well. I was not allowed to date until I was 15 and then it had to be a double date. At age 16 I was allowed to go out alone with a guy, but they had to meet him first, (which was rather ridiculous considering I lived in a small town and everyone knew everyone). The only makeup I was allowed to wear until I was 14 was lip gloss.

When I entered high school, she bought me makeup and showed me how to apply it. She has used Clinique for as long as I can remember…but kept me knee deep in “Cover girl” products in effort to keep me out of her makeup. She always had the greatest perfumes…I used the cheaper ones…my favorites being, Love’s Baby Soft, and Jovan Musk for women, but I used hers every chance I got. I also used her razor to shave my legs.

In short…my mom’s room and closet were a teenage girl’s dream come true. I remember looking at her and wanting to dress like her, and wear makeup and perfume, but having to wait patiently to grow into the “magic” age. When I reached the “magic” age, I hit her room like a hurricane. She never seemed to mind sharing anything (except her expensive makeup).

I’ve always thought that the rules I grew up with, were pretty good rules, and planned on using the same rules with my kids. The funny thing is, that my kids don’t seem to be biting at the bit to “grow up” like I was.

The only makeup my daughter is allowed to wear is lip gloss (except during dance performances). She has never even asked to wear any other makeup. I’ve also bought her Love’s baby soft perfume…but she doesn’t use it. She is a total clothes/shoes freak…and I do indulge her a bit too much in that area. But for the most part she just seems to be this content little person.

When my son was younger (now age 20 and in college) I told him that he would be allowed to double date when he was 15 and single date when he was 16. He never even questioned these rules. When he was 17, to my knowledge he had still never been on a date. I walked into his room one night (where he stayed most of the time, playing video games) and said, “Son, you do know that you are allowed to go out on dates, don’t you? Why don’t you go out with Vicky or some of your friends”. He laughed, and I do believe he called some friends and went out. But it was as though it never dawned on him to go out and have fun.

Hannah is never into my stuff, although I’m sure that will change drastically when she is a bit older.

Danny is a different story altogether. When he was two, I walked into my room and he had my lipstick all over him…it was all over his face and head. It was also all over the wall and the carpet. And when I walked in and shrieked in horror at the mess…he simply looked at me and giggled.

In the past few months he has stolen my deodorant, the shaving cream I use for my legs, my hair dryer, and my razor.

This strikes me as very funny. I expected this from my daughter…not my son.