9 Ways You're Becoming Just Like Your Mom

My favorite woman in the world has the best way of forgetting the punchline to a joke with a complicated setup, loves funk — like, really loves funk — and owns far too many boots for the tensile strength of her shoe rack. I'm talking about my mother, and despite my being in complete denial over the inevitable inheritance of her quirks, I know I'm becoming just like my mom. Not only have I accepted this, I'm pretty much embracing it full force.

Recently, I've become very close with my mom. We had a relationship reinvigoration, if you will, because, well, I just really, really needed her perspective and her hugs, and she was there for me, completely. While she was busy talking me off a ledge at all hours of the day and night, essentially following me around like a naughty toddler without a shred of self-restraint, I started noticing some similarities between the two of us that I'd never recognized before. At first, I was startled, and in denial, and then I realized I am a lucky, lucky girl to be in any way related to this cool, gorgeous woman that gave me life.

It's probable that this has happened to you at some point. Maybe you've caught yourself using an expression only your mom says, or in side-by-side photos the resemblance between you is undeniable. Come with me and celebrate a few times that it hit you: "Dear god, I am becoming my mother... and I think I like it."

1. Your voices sound the same on the phone

You answer the house's landline and three minutes later you're very confused but know a lot of family secrets that you'd rather not be privy to. Why? Because Aunt Nina had a terrible day with her kids, and totally thought you were your mother when you picked up. Don't worry, Nina is more embarrassed than you are.

2. Your habits are eerily similar

You both leave the light on in the pantry, you both forget your keys in random places around the house, you both cut people off in conversation. Maybe it's a coincidence, but chances are, you picked up a few of these traits from her. Even scarier, it might just be an inexplicable genetic quirk you've both succumbed to. Eek.

3. You hear yourself repeating her isms

Even weirder, they come out in her exact intonation, complete with her gestures and awkwardly placed laughter when someone calls you out on this. Weirder still, these expressions are colloquialisms from her hometown, so the isms aren't even appropriate for the region you live in. She's made you stick out like a sore thumb (but in the cutest way possible).

4. You've adopted her perspective on life

Whether you're generally a positive or negative person, you can probably trace this back to your formative years of listening to her thoughts on why things happen and what life is all about. Do you wake up every morning ready to embrace life's challenges? Do you look for the best in people and feel like you're channeling her when you tell others to do the same? Yeah, me too. (Thank you, Mom.)

5. You pull her signature dance moves

OK, so maybe this one is great, maybe it isn't, but it's hilarious when the two of you both hear a song you love. "Wait for the beat to drop" definitely tops my list of favorite things my mom has said to me emphatically. Long story short, we both waited for the drop, and it was pretty epic. To us, anyway.

6. You can do an insanely accurate impression of her

Right down to the reaction she's having at you doing the impression. The sound of your voice and your posture change instinctively, and you actually feel like you could be her. This impression is so spot-on that it's even freaking you out. The funniest part? Her impression of you is even better.

7. You use her strategies for dealing with life

When it's time to cope with a change or a small tragedy, do you hear a few familiar mantras echoing in your head? Yes, and you know they are Mom's words keeping you sane. I remember my mother's advice for solving word problems in math class, which at times totally escaped both of us, but the way she'd remind me to simply break down each piece of the problem and deal with it separately has informed my approach to solving bigger life issues.

8. Your wisdom is a direct result of advice she's given you over the years

You open up your mouth and advice from her comes out. "How did I think to say that?" you ask yourself. Well, maybe you were listening when Mom stressed the importance of keeping your purse close on the subway. What you used to take for granted now makes total sense to you, whether you'd like to admit it or not, and you hear yourself passing that wisdom along to others.

9. You're starting to look just like her

Isn't there something comforting about looking in the mirror and seeing her face staring back at you? As you age, your physical resemblance to your mother is getting stronger, but she's a pretty sexy 60, so you're not mad at it. Bring it on, time.

Relationships between mother and daughter are as wildly different between families as any other relationship you'll build over the years. As with every long-term relationship, the people involved will either grow closer as time passes, suffer the pangs of growing apart, or discover that they are very different at the end of it than they were in the beginning. Unlike a significant other or a BFF, though, your mom is the only mom you've got, not to mention the only one you'll ever have, and you can't really trade her in for an "upgraded" model. You may not love everything about becoming more like your mom, but some of those traits you wouldn't trade for the world.

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