Things my parents gave me

Yesterday I was popping to an area of West London I've never been to. I strolled out of the station and walked for ten minutes in the wrong direction. Because, like my Dad, I always get my left and right mixed up. Constantly. Do not ask me for directions if you're driving. Unless it's in a straight line, I'll get it wrong (or be asleep five minutes after we set off). I can read maps, but 9 out of 10 times if I say right, I mean left.

But there's lots of things we get from our folks. Little things that we don't even realise. The bump in my nose is from my dad, my absolute refusal to believe that I can't do something is most definitely from my mum. Both of my parents are fiercely stubborn, it's safe to say that I get an extra dose of that.

I'm so much like both of my parents. When I'm at my strongest, I'm like my mum. This isn't always a good thing - sometimes I'll be having an argument and catch myself in a reflection and there's a realisation that I'm turning into my mother. But when I laugh I look like her too. And when I'm being silly. But my mannerisms, the way I doodle when I'm on the phone, and all the little bits of me that are seemingly of no consequence are from my dad. You might not see them all the time, but they're there.

And then there's the stuff I amuse myself with. I drink juice right out of the carton because it used to annoy my dad sooooooo much. I eat cereal when I watch films because I never understood why my mum wouldn't let me. All the little things I can do that are still a little rebellious.

But it's more than that. My parents are such awesome people, on their own and together. But together they work. They make sense. They've been married for almost 30 years. My parents gave me a complete and utter belief in love, and marriage. I'm really lucky to have that, even if I'm going in the wrong direction sometimes.

Flickr image from Eggybird's photostream.