My husband’s cousin is here from Mauritius. We have had long chats about where all our lives and childhoods have overlapped, taking us back to family quirks and idiosyncrasies. We were musing about how we all end up becoming our mothers. I was teasing my daughter and telling her that she would become me, when I realised my argument was backfiring on me, because if she was to become me, I was going to become my mum! I quickly backtracked on my argument, but she had caught on and was already throwing it back at me in gales of laughter.

It did get us focused on quirks. One I know I have already picked up from my grandmother, which is having my keys ready well in advance of seeing my front door or my car. We used to hoot with laughter if we went on holiday with my gran, she would start digging in her handbag about 300kms from home to check if her keys were there. At about 150kms from home, the keys would be on her lap and about 50kms away, they would be in her hand with her fingers poised around the first key to be used. It was the source of silent rib poking, eyebrow raising and grins between the family members as we watched the keys’ journey to lock opening. I seemed to have picked up this “be prepared key attitude.” These days on the train, I adjust my bag on my lap at the Hartwell station on my journey home. I get my keys out at Burwood and by Ashburton my fingers are firmly gripping ny car key!

I smile and bless my gran on every train ride when I catch myself doing this, which is now daily…yes, so I have her quirk…I could have done far worse 🙂

Share on Facebook

Tanya Uncategorized