We all have that special relationship with our mom, because let’s face it, they can be kind of crazy sometimes and only daughters can understand it. Mom’s just do those things that we find so incredibly weird, though, to them, it just makes sense and we accept it because we love them. But, if you’re Italian, you just know that sometimes your mom can be a little too much to handle. From being sick to the food she cooks, here are some ways to tell if you were raised by an Italian woman, if you couldn’t tell already.
1. Every Sunday might as well be a holiday.
Your mom gets up early and starts making gravy (which to anyone else is just tomato sauce), meatballs, garlic bread and pasta. You are not allowed to leave the house or eat past three because dinner starts at five sharp and doesn’t end until nine.
2. Vicks can cure anything.
Cold? Vicks. Fever? Vicks. Broken arm? Vicks. You will never find Advil or Tylenol in your medicine cabinet because according to your mom, “it doesn’t work.”
3. Normal people throw change in new cars for good luck. Italian moms throw salt to “cleanse spirits.”
Along with giving you a rosary to hang up or a picture of a saint to keep in your glove compartment.
4. No matter who walks in your house or what time it is, your mom will offer to make them anything they want and won’t stop asking until they agree to eat something.
5. She refuses to sit down at the dinner table until everyone has something in front of them.
Try not to say things like “I’m thirsty” because she will be out of her chair with a glass of water before you can blink twice.
6. Growing up, you weren’t allowed to eat at Olive Garden, because it wasn’t “real” Italian food.
Your mom would say “mamma mia” to herself if you even brought it up.
7. If an Italian woman invites you for coffee, just know you’ll be staying for a few hours.
If you’re there long enough she might even take out the special dessert she saves for company.
8. Everything has to be sliced thin.
If your mom has ever dragged you to the deli to pick up some cheese or cold cuts, everything is sliced thin and she always needs a sample.
9. Nothing is ever whispered.
Every conversation is loud and every time she says your name, well, it’s yelled across the house. Even if you’re sitting across the dinner table, your mom can’t help but yell with her hands.
10. You have seen The Godfather, Good Fellas, My Cousin Vinny or A Bronx Tale all before you were able to drive a car.
11. You grew up having Stella D’oro cookies being the only cookies in the house.
At the end of the day, you know you love your crazy, Italian mom more than anything and you wouldn’t want it any other way!