Some time ago, probably a year ago, something hit me, not literally. It was the realization that there are family habits that can not be explained easily, and so I blame it on genetics.
Isn’t it funny when you see your children do something that another relative might also do, but without knowing it?
For example, my dad is quite picky about being clean, something that is good. My parents live in Puerto Rico and I live in Virginia, so my one year old David, has not been exposed to the every day habits of my dad. One day, as I tried to encourage my little David to eat on his own, he made quite a mess on his face. I had a napkin on my hand. Suddenly my child stretched over, got the napkin and started to clean his face and hands. I suddenly pictured my dad. This might seem a simple thing, but there is more…
When I was in my preteen years I remember coming from school and preferring to kneel to watch TV. I did this for quite some time. I would get some serious cramps if I tried this today. One day my mother told me how she had never seen anyone else do that, for the exception of her uncle; a person that I had never met. And so now that I think about it, it’s pretty amazing.
The day that I realized the wonders of this phenomenon, was last year. My mother and youngest sister were visiting me. I can’t remember why we started talking about deodorant, but we did, just one of those unexpected topics that arise in the kitchen. I mentioned that I had this rare talent of applying my deodorant with just one hand. My husband says that I look like a chicken when doing the acrobatics to apply my deodorant. My youngest sister thought that is was completely weird, but my mom just laughed about it. She does the same thing too! What a bond I felt…
Now, I look at my children, my eight year old Joyce and my little David, and I try to admire their actions, hoping to discover a habit that can only be explained by a family bond. And until science can come up with a better explanation, I will blame it all on the wonders of genetics.
Jo-Ann M. Rodriguez
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