The Next Generation

"Hey, Dad, do you wear aftershave?"

"Yeah. After I shave."

If you ever were curious where I learned how to give smartypants answers to questions, there ya go.

My mom walked into the living room carrying a rocking chair. She plopped it down and took a seat. I glanced at the fabric, noting a disturbingly vibrant green with spatters of floral and amoeba floating across it. I made a face.

"What, you don't like it? I got it for $25 at Goodwill."

"Why?"

"Because it was there. And so I could re-cover it to match our other one."

If you have ever been curious about my quirkyness and general unique approach to life and objects, here ya go.

I love both qualities and find it endlessly humorous when I see where I learned it all.

We truly are our parents' children. We carry on not only what they teach us purposefully but also that which we learn through osmosis. I find the latter much more entertaining, even the bad traits you may pick up, because it's carrying on the legacy of your father's snarky and clever responses to simple questions. It's seeing something unusual or different and finding humor or love for it just because it's there at this moment and in my life. It's my mother's optimism and my father's realism.

It's the creation of my future and it's fascinating.

Next time you're around your parents or think about them, pay attention to their little habits and quirks and then think about how many times you've made your coffee just like them, put the pantry in just the same order, or even sit or stand exactly the same. It's hilarious!

We are all mini-me's of our parents not only through genetics but through our behavior, too.