At this age, you resemble your parents the most

Something strange happened while I was on vacation with my boyfriend. We were in what was probably the most beautiful hotel on earth, palm trees on the left, cocktail on the right, until we realized something shocking.

All those years we just went on vacation with our parents. As a child, as a teenager, even sometimes as an adult. And we thought that was just… normal. Summer vacation in Italy, sometimes a long trip outside Europe, sometimes a weekend away in our own country. It happened. Now that my boyfriend and I are going on vacation together and paying with credit cards that have our own names engraved on them, we realize more than ever that traveling is not so self-evident. That it is expensive. That it is even more expensive if you have three children. We realized how lucky we are and that we should count our blessings. So we do. And then came the really shocking part. We realized that suddenly, there under that palm, we look suspiciously like our parents. Both of us. Already.

Yes, you will all experience such a moment someday. I'm just warning you in advance.

Because it’s not so strange, it turns out. As you get older, you inevitably start to resemble your parents more and more. You start to appreciate them more and you see better what they have done for you your whole life. You take that over as an adult. And when exactly does that happen? According to science, you resemble your parents the most from the age of 32. Before that, you can still act a bit childish, but then it’s really over. You are a copy of your father and your mother and your siblings likewise. You start to adopt habits and you value the same things as what you grew up with. For example, I now also want a Labrador. Grew up with one. I also want to live where they live. I also want to always make broth when someone is sick/weak/nauseous because my father always does that. And goodness gracious, I’m only 28, you know. In four years, I don’t think anyone will see the difference between me and my mother.

I don’t find it bad. Thanks to my parents, I know for example how valuable it is to make long and far trips. How valuable it is to see the world. How important it is to be good to the world, to people who have less than you. Thanks to them, I know how well we have it all in the Netherlands, how to cook fennel exactly, and that spending time with the people you love is perhaps what life is all about. Not about success, power, intelligence, money, or followers on social media.

The most important lessons in life you learn from your parents. You only start listening to that from your 32nd, okay. But still, thank you for all those years before that, dad and mom.