This morning at preschool drop off, a friend of mine commented that Thomas looks a lot like his dad. I agreed, and I actually hear that a lot. In fact, I hear that about all our kids. They look SO MUCH LIKE TOM.
I said, “Yeah, he does. But let me show you something.”
And then I whipped out my phone and showed her this picture. Me at two, looking very much like my 18-month old son. Or maybe he’s looking very much like me. Either way.
(I’m not addressing my onion head because we already did that a few years ago and my bald years are still sensitive.)
While I was home for Thanksgiving, we spent a lot of time looking at old family pictures. Every now and then my mom would hold one up and say, “Whelp. There’s baby Thomas.” And sure enough, it would be a picture of me with my sister and our Easter baskets, that answered any question I’ve ever had about what Thomas would look like in a pinafore.
My mom disagrees, but I also think David looks like me as a kid. I’m guessing I’m four in this photo. This photo in which my sister is dressed for her job in middle management in the mid-80s, and I’m dressed as a child a summer day.
I think I look like David, but I’m acting like Mary Virginia. See what I’m holding? That’s a photo of me in a bikini. I’m holding a photo of myself. It’s like I’m my own hype guy — if you think these purple short-alls are cute WELL YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN MY BIKINI!
Speaking of Mary Virginia, if she ever commits a crime and needs an alibi, she can easily say she was in 1961 at the time of the crime and no one would question it.
That’s actually my Aunt Connie. Any time we came across a photo of Connie as a child, it looked like Mary Virginia in one of those old timey photos you can get done at the beach. Except instead of a saloon wearing cowboy garb, they were gathered around a Christmas tree wearing pressed collars and wool pants.
My mom is the little girl in the white cardigan, I’m pretty sure that’s my Uncle David brooding, and my granny is sitting at the far right.
Cross my Aunt Connie’s features and fluffy hair with purple short-all Amanda’s attitude and this is what you get.
The perfect Christmas tree shopping attire: a too-small dress, a fur vest, fringe boots, and a bent-knee that says, “If you want to compliment me I wouldn’t mind it at all.”
I loved reading this! I’ve always thought the boys both looked like you (definitely Thomas) and Mary Virginia looked more like Tom. But that picture of your aunt – woah! That is an uncanny resemblance to your little girl! It looks like you have some pretty dominant genes 🙂
Do you and your husband look at all alike? It’s astonishing how much your aunt looks like Mary Virginia; there’s obviously some strong genetics along the line. Meanwhile my trio look like miniature versions of their father – my genes are clearly saving themselves to bestow the bad eyesight and wonky teeth on my poor unsuspecting kiddos!
Oh my gosh. As a person with 3 CLONES for children who look exactly like their dad (did you see that side by side of Will and 2yo Danny?) I do not get shocked easily by these things. But I truly thought you’d photoshopped Thomas in the first pic, and ABSOLUTELY THAT IS MARY VIRGINIA superimposed in the black and white pic. I refuse to believe you’re not playing a trick on us.
I’ve always thought tour kids looked like you. I seriously think you photoshopped Mary Virginia into that old photo from the 60’s! How cool!