A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of ThatSidetracked Sisters

looks I’ve always been told I look just like my mom. I could never really see it myself until I was about 18. I was doing my makeup at her vanity and she was standing behind me. Looking from her face to mine and back again, it suddenly hit me and I started to cry stating “Oh my God. I DO look like you.” Really nice right? I’m sure mom really appreciated my tears! I don’t know why I cried – I think Mom looks great and always has. I should be so lucky to look as good as she does. When I had kids – I wondered what traits they would have from me and what they would get from their dad. They are truly a mixture of the two of us.

Adverse to change

I am not a fan of change at all. Growing up, Mom always had to give me ample warning if something was going to be different than the year before or I may have a meltdown. It could be something as minimal as not having plain Jello at Easter or there will be more than just family at the family holiday, but I had to be informed ahead of time. This trait lasted well into adulthood. When my kids came along, that irritation lessened for me, but escalated in them. Both Bradley and Jessica are still this way. I have to give them a heads-up when there is a change of plans so they can prepare themselves. They no longer have the melt-down, but I think, knowing how it used to make me feel as a kid, I’ve been able to recognize and alleviate their issues before it happened.

Nathan on the other hand, can roll with the punches and he’s always been able to adapt to changes.

Words of Affirmation

When talking about the 5 Love Languages, I’m definitely a Words of Affirmation type of person. I need to get recognition from people in order to feel loved/valued. This is one way that Nathan definitely follows after me. He has always been my go-to guy when I need help. As he got older and I had shared the 5 Love Languages with him, he started to become concerned that I just used this method in order to get his help doing things around the house. “Hey Nate – I know I can always count on you. Will you help me with…?” I have to admit – sometimes I may have used this knowledge to my advantage.

Looks

In the area of looks, Jessica and Bradley definitely take after me. Jessica has been called my mini-me for as long as she’s been around. When people that knew me as a child see her, they always tell her how much she looks like me.

Me and Jess at 3 years old

Me and Jess at 9 years old

We actually tease in our family that we have triplets. My cousin Andrea also looks like me. When Andrea introduces Jess and me, she’ll say – “This is Jessica. This is what I used to look like and this is Michelle. This is what I’m going to look like.”

Jessica, Andrea and Michelle

With Bradley, I never realized how much he and I looked alike until I used the Snapchat filter that made me into a boy and I thought I was looking at a picture of Brad.

Bradley (left) – Me as a boy (right)

Reactions

I love to get a reaction out of people. I’m like my mom in this sense and this is another area where Nate and I are the same. Nate is a prankster and always has been. He loves to see how people react and loves to make people react. I am too. My mom used to stick Judy with pins to see her jump. I used to sing to my cousin Matt “I hate you, you hate me. We chased Barney up a tree. When a shot rang out and Barney hit the floor. No more purple dinosaur” and he’d get soooo upset. Well – Nate used to tell Jess she was adopted just to make her cry.

Psychological challenge

Jessica is also very much like me in the personality quirks area. Mom always tells me what a psychological challenge I was growing up and Jess is no different. Jess never had a chance of getting away with something because if I knew the situation, I could predict how she was feeling and what she was thinking. When Jess goes to her room and seems to be sulking – there is no reason to go in and talk to her about it because she just wants to be alone. If you give her any suggestions on how to solve whatever issue is happening – she’ll just tell you that you are wrong because she doesn’t want to hear it right then. I am exactly the same. I know how to handle her moods because they are the same as my moods. If she asks me “What was that drink we had at that one place that one time?” – I know the exact answer because she and I think the same.

I love seeing how my traits and behaviors have melded into my kids. It’s fascinating to watch as it evolves over the years. I especially love to see when they take after me because after all – who better to emulate?!