Friday, March 20, 2009

Fatherhood Friday 5

It's all good in the hood of the father this Friday.

Shut your mouth... just... shut it.

How annoying is it when people look at your little rug rat and exclaim, "Oh she looks just like her mother." or "You can definitely tell where she gets her good looks."

Look. I know it's just people feeling the need to say something cliche that doesn't take much thought and that fills the void of silence, but it really is old... and lame.

I'd prefer silence, thank you.

Why DO people have such problems with silence? You are currently throwing my produce and dairy across a grid of strategically placed lasers which emit a gentle beep every time you succeed, as if you need a pat on the back every time you get that bar code in just the right place. You are NOT a close relative or friend and frankly I don't care if my daughter looks like your nieces' uncle's brother's daughter. 


... but this post isn't about people who annoy me.

It's about my daughter acting like me. 

One of me is bad enough.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm sort of a freak. A nerd. A dork. I mean, look at the titles above each of my sections... that kind of stuff gives me a little techie-stiffy. I'm also a control freak and I usually don't go down without a fight. 

I really like to play coy and turn up the cuteness when I might be in trouble. I love being the center of attention but I HATE asking for it. 

I could keep going on and on about all the quirky and often times annoying things about me. 

All my life I thought I was unique.

Then came this little 20lb package of pooping, crying, laughing, almost walking, just about a year old, miniature human. All these things which I thought were me have turned into "us". My daughter is a total nerd. She loves any computer or technological device. She's analytical to the point of it making your head hurt. She's sassy and coy and plays devil's advocate. There's a part of me that wants to yell, "Hey! That's who I am. You can't steal that". As if she took the top hat out of the monopoly game set before I had a chance to claim that I wanted it. 

Yeah. I make sense... don't I.

Take your mental blender. Add one part pride, one part empathy, and one part creeped out. That's the recipe I have when I look at my daughter. I'm sorry, Niamonster... I know what it's like to be me and while I think it's fun... you're in for one hell of a ride. 

Creeeeeepy.


What magical traits have you thought were unique which are now shared by your miniature version of yourself?


14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know what you mean. I cringe when I see parts of me oozing out of Will. I also cringe when I see parts of his mother coming out.

Yet I'm also ridiculously proud when he does some of these things (like when he found his junk and started yanking on it!).

Weird.

E.Payne said...

My daughter has my ingenuity, determination and desire to fix everything. I love to watch her loving to learn the way I remember I did (not at her age - can't remember back that far - but a little older) She also has my slick tongue. She also has her mother's temper which scares me tremendously.

Andrew's Daddies said...

Our son is adopted..so really does not look like either of us. I'm trying not the real me to slip out when around my little guy. I would hate for him to start yelling at people while in the car..like his daddy

Melisa Wells said...

First of all, she wasn't BORN at 20 lbs, was she? :)

I was just commenting to my husband last night that my 16yo, who is in the throes of a tough Junior year class-wise, Lacrosse season, studying for the ACT and working on his Boy Scout Eagle Project...and walking around like a lit firecracker, waiting to explode, that he is hesitant to ask for help, much like me. Ugh. I just learned to ask for help recently and I hope that he learns it earlier than I did.

But you have to look for the "good" stuff that your daughter got from each of you too. It's there, just harder to see sometimes!

Jason said...

Dude, my 7 year old son already has a long box and half of a short box full of comics. He's me with a freaking head start. My youngest however, from what I'm told, is my wife to a T, and I have absolutely no problem blaming her for it LOL

BellaDaddy said...

*sense of style
*sense of humour
*common sense
*explorer mentality
*curious nature
*stubborness
*goofy, fun natured

All things that have been used to describe me for YEARS...are now her....and, I lost my birthday too ...ah well...sacrifices eh? LOL

Otter Thomas said...

Our son is too young to act like either of us. I hope he doesn't get all my bad traits. I don't want to know what it is like to live with me. I hear it is hard.

Everyone says he looks just like me and they say he is cute. I will take that as a compliment. I take'em where I can get'em.

Charlie on the PA Turnpike said...

My biggest cringe moment is when people look at my sons and claim they look just like me.

My standard reply is Why would you insult my kids so?

Anonymous said...

Freaks, nerds, dorks unite! Me too, and I thought it was cool. My son is leaning that way, but he IS cool, chicks dig nim!

Pam said...

i call my oldest daughter mini-me...she looks like me, she is emotional like me. but there's a difference, she's a go getter. i never was. she is far more social now than i ever was at her age. i seem to put a lot of pressure on her to do well w everything because she has so much potential..more than i ever had, and probably because i don't want her being exactly like me in some ways.

Joeprah said...

LOL! My kids got my humor--especially my youngest. My oldest is ultra competitive, but a good sport (me). My middle child is least like me, quiet, reserved and not into school. My middle child though does act the goofiest of all our kids which I guess is an inheritable trait?

KWG said...

Crap, that means Bea's gonna be a overly verbose social butterfly (which she's doing right now screaming in my ear while stroking my face).

Isabella said...

I pray that niamonster doesn't get my laughing 'hooknose.'

Lord help her.

Anonymous said...

Ugh i'm suddenly less excited about my kids being born. Some of us aren't meant to be replicated.