I'm Kind of Like My Mom, But Not Really

Someone once told me about a study that proved people learn how to handle toilet paper from their mother. Apparently, if you fold your TP before wiping, there's a strong probability that you mother also folds. And if you wad it up, it's likely your mom wads. Great use of research funds, I say.

This may surprise you, but I'm actually not going to tell you what I do with my toilet paper. I actually do keep a few things private. However, it may be an interesting topic of conversation at our family Thanksgiving.

I don't know about the TP thing yet, but here are some things I do have in common with my mom:

• We store our beaters in the silverware drawer. (I actually only have one beater. See this story.)
• We chew gum, only I can't make mine pop like she does.
• We drive fast, only I've had a few more tickets than my mom.
• We laugh until we cry.
• We are afraid of those creepy black spiders with a red spot on their backs that like to hang out in the tomato plants.
• We fold our towels in half, in half, and then in thirds.
• We like to read.
• We love the same people.
• We eat our popcorn in milk, like cereal.

I will tell you one thing I don't have in common with my mom is the way we use food storage containers. Mom is an expert in getting the exact right size container for the amount of food to store. Every time she eats a bit, she moves the leftover leftovers to a smaller size container. Mom's motivation is to save room in the fridge. My motivation is to do as few dishes as possible, so I usually have large containers with small amounts of food. For example, here's a salad we've been chipping away at.

A photo that will never win a photography award. I swear it looks better in person!

You better believe I put that single salad serving right back in the fridge in the original bowl. But here's the thing. Almost every time I do that, I think of my mom and how she would find a smaller, perfectly sized container. It almost feels like I'm defying her. Is that a sin? I may not always do what she does, but that doesn't mean she's not in my head!