I’ve never seen the original Freaky Friday with Jodi Foster when she was a little boy, but I read the book when I was younger and I own the DVD of the new version, and I must say I LOVE IT! My favorite part? When the mom trapped in her daughter’s body pulls down her friend’s shirt to cover her midriff. It makes me laugh like a crazy person.
I was trying to think of a clever post about what it would be like to swap spots with my mom when I came to the shocking conclusion that I have already begun morphing into her. I see it even more in my older sisters. Over time, I guess you just slowly start to become your mother. Thankfully, my siblings and I have rubbed off a lot on her as well. My little sister and I pretty much forced her into watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson’s Creek with us every week as teenagers. She’ll pretend like she wasn’t that into them and she makes it clear that she did not approve of some topics they addressed, but who shed tears during the last episode of Dawson’s Creek? You guessed it. Mama. (And pretty much everyone else in America - that show was SAD.)
I was quite pleased to receive a call from her this past Tuesday morning to discuss the shameful events that took place on the season finale of The Bachelor the previous night. Of course, we kids can’t get all the credit; she is the one who passed her passion for pop culture down to us in the first place. The woman knows every TV/movie star and to whom they’re related from the black-and-white era. (Coincidentally, they’re all of our current stars’ moms and dads and grandmas and grandpas.) It’s amazing the connection you feel to celebrities once you understand their pedigrees.
I really do feel sorry for most outsiders when they enjoy any type of entertainment with more than one of my family members present; it’s like we’re speaking a different language. One year, my little sister’s boyfriend at the time sat down to watch Freaky Friday with us. He had apparently been raised inside a hollowed out tree because he was completely clueless when it came to pop culture - and we were loving it. (I mean, we had to explain the concept of Full House to him. Incredible, right?) We asked him if he was familiar with any of the stars in Freaky Friday, and he replied that he thought he recognized the mom (you mean Jamie Lee Curtis?), but he had no idea who Lindsay Lohan was. Can you believe that?! In the end, he was probably better off for it, but it was seriously like watching a movie with an alien. So awesome!
So what would your typical day include if you were to change places with your mom? Would it include running to the store for milk and a fieldtrip to Big Lots? Mine would. Mine does.
