Don’t make fun of your parents! This is why.

Why shouldn’t you make fun of your parents?

I’ll give you the short answer first.

Because you’ll end up experiencing all of the things you made fun of!

Yes, it’s as if you apply a curse when you make fun of your parents.

That you assure yourself of having to experience the very same things.

And come up with the same results!

The first example that comes to mind for me is toothpicks.

Yes, toothpicks.

After eating a meal, whether at home or a restaurant, both of my parents went looking for a toothpick. They had toothpicks stashed all over the house. On counters, in the creases of furniture, in the car.

I teased them about that. It seemed silly and odd. After all, who needed a toothpick after every meal??

You can probably guess what’s next.

Now I need a toothpick – or dental floss – after every meal!

My parents didn’t tell me that part of aging was receding gum lines and shifting teeth.

But now I know . . . firsthand.

I also made fun of the fact that my mother ignored expiration dates on lots of products. I thought that was weird and maybe dangerous. I made fun of her.

Even if the expiration date on some medication (maybe a salve or ointment) was years before, she’d say it was fine and go ahead and use it.

Well, you can guess again what I’m about to say.

I had a terrible cough the last couple of weeks. I remembered seeing some old cough drops in my bathroom closet.

So what if the expiration date was in 2010? Those cough drops were fine.

And you bet I used them. They worked just as well as the ones I bought last week.

Now I’m like my mother.

My father used to say that watching live events on television was better than being there in person. I thought that was silly. I teased him about that.

He said you had a better view on TV, plus you didn’t have to deal with getting there and the hassle of parking. And your seat was more comfortable.

I told him he was SO wrong. That being at a live event was so much better, more fun, more exciting.

But now, what do I think?

That televised coverage is better, easier, less hassle. You can see better and not have to spend the time and effort of getting there. Plus you’re in the comfort of your home and not out in the heat or the cold.

I’ve become my father.

I also teased my parents about not wanting to shop for new clothes.

They’d pull old clothes out of the closet, things that they’d bought a decade or longer before. They said these clothes were fine.

I couldn’t imagine wearing clothes that were a decade old. And I never, I mean never, wore out any clothes.

And guess what I discover when I look at Facebook photos from 10 years ago?

I’m still wearing some clothes that I bought back then. Some from even longer ago than 10 years!

And, yes, now I have worn out some clothes. It made me sad last summer when a pair of favorite shorts split in the seat because the fabric was so worn. Where would I find another pair as perfect as those? I grieved their demise.

What has happened to me??!

I’m turning into my parents, especially concerning the things I teased them about.

I think it was a curse.

A curse that goes into effect when you tease your parents.

A curse that assures you’ll think the same way as them when you get to their age.

So this is my warning to you young people.

Be careful.

Don’t tease your parents about anything that seems old or out of date or behind the times. Or just plain weird.

Why?

I mean, really, it seems so fun to give them a hard time, right? Because after all, you’ll never be like that.

Right?

NOPE!