Mom in the Mirror

I admit it. I'm a mirror checker. I can't walk past one without taking a glance to see how good/grungy/dirty/clean/tired/presentable/fat/skinny/put together I look. But my new "mirror" follows me around. He's about 3 1/2 feet tall and his imitations of his mommy have been my adorable/embarrassing/hilarious reality checks of how I really look and act throughout the day.

First, there's the looks category. My "mirror" tells me that I must look like a sloppy piece of garbage on most days because if I walk into Simon's room dressed and with make-up on, the first question he asks is, "Mommy are we going to church today?"

Then, there's the speech category. Your mirror might not record everything you say and play it back for you, but mine does. It started a while back when we were driving somewhere and I heard from the backseat, "Oh. My. Good. Ness." With embarrassment, I vowed never to say that again.

But lately, Simon's favorite expression has been, "Whatever!" Please picture him saying that with the most perfect Valley Girl inflection. I can deny it all I want, but I think we all know where he picked that one up. Clearly, I must talk like I'm trying out for this millenium's remake of Clueless.

Finally (and this is where it stings), there's the behavior category. Simon seems to have inherited (or worse, learned) my strategies of dealing with frustration. When the door on his big truck won't stay open, Simon yells at it, "STOP FALLING DOWN!" When things are generally just not going away, he lets out the Grunt of Exasperation - uuugghhh!!!! And, sometimes he throws things.

My mirror has led me to many an apology for my all-too-apparent frustration. And my mirror can send me straight from a temper tantrum to a fit of giggles with his imitation of my childishness. And, then Simon will say, "Mommy - I crack you up!"