One of the many cool thing that happens in college — besides gaining self-awareness, making friends to last a lifetime and eating lots of cheesy sticks at 2 a.m. — is that your mom stops being solely the wonderful woman who raised you, loved you and nagged you (the last two are the same thing). She also becomes your best friend and possible fashion icon. Mom-friendly comfort shoes are truly great — and also hip.
Your mom is smart, funny, wise, experienced; she loves you unconditionally, and she will always pay for dinner. And possibly even do the laundry for you. She’s the perfect pal, so treat her right and hang out with her!
Not sure what to do? Never fear! Here we provide you with some fun things to do with your mom:
- Hang out in the kitchen
Only good things happen in the kitchen — except dish washing. And oven burns. And not to stereotype, but there is a fairly good chance your mom hangs out there a lot, either because she’s a great cook or because she’s a human being and needs to heat up food and make some coffee.
Learn a generations-old recipe and carry on a proud familial tradition, or just help chop up some vegetables. Make her a meal. Spend some time together rooting around the kitchen for food that doesn’t actually require the ability to cook. Whatever your level of kitchen competence, you’re eating in good company — the definition of fun.
- Tag along to her preferred mode of exercise
Join her for yoga, a jog, a swim, a hike, a walk to the store. However she stays active, go with her — she’ll appreciate the gesture and your fun, if sweaty, presence, and you’ll appreciate being conveniently forced into actually exercising.
And if you’re wildly unlucky and your mom enjoys long and arduous speed walks at 8 a.m., make a conspicuous effort to go, gain affectionate pity with your performance and then join her for breakfast afterwards.
- Have a drink
When you return home from college, there’s a decent chance that you’ll find your mom much more inclined to pour you a glass of wine or show you how a cocktail’s really done (“Squirt and tequila”). And moms have had a lot of time to figure out exactly how to have a great time; trust us, they’re good at this.
But if your mom’s less open to that idea, there are a lot of delicious and fun things to drink in the world. Go on a coffee date. Have some tea and biscuits. Brew up some fancy lemonade with mint from the garden or farmer’s market. Drinks are yummy, casual and leisurely, and it feels like an activity with none of the physical exertion.
- Go out on the town
Plan a real date. Have lunch and then window shop (or “shop” shop — that’s cool too). Get dinner and go see a movie. See a show and treat yourself to a late night snack — and by late, we mean the ungodly hour of 9 p.m. Go out for happy-hour karaoke. Besides being super fun, it’s nice to go out with your mom because you have absolutely zero obligation to fill lulls in conversation that would be awkward if it were with anybody else. Also, chances are she’s footing the bill.
- Brag a little
Nobody likes a boast … except your mom (and also dad)! Your success is their success, and your mom is the only person in the world you can list off your accomplishments without being a giant schmuck.
Take her to a museum and point out the formal elements you now understand after introductory art history. Fix her laptop with your new computer skills, and then explain to her how the Internet works. Show her your PowerPoint project or pictures of you doing productive things. (Be aware, though: She will probably demand you send these to her so she can add them to her camera roll, which consists exclusively of photos she downloaded off your Facebook profile.)
- Talk a lot
Just talk to her! She wants to hear what you’ve been up to, and you want to hear some juicy mom gossip about whatever happened to your elementary school friends. She’s a wealth of cool stories and sage advice, which you should be taking advantage of. And remember to put the manners she taught you to good use and listen to what she has to say as well.
