💬 I've started asking everyone if they've eaten, exactly like my mother does

My mother's first question on every phone call is, did you eat? Not hello. Not how are you. Did you eat. I used to find it funny. 9 pm, 3 pm, 7 am, doesn't matter. First question, every time. Last week a friend called me, upset about something at work. And the first thing I said was, did you eat? He went quiet and then laughed. He said, you sound exactly like my mother. I didn't even notice I'd said it. It just came out. Same tone, same little pause after. I think it's her way of asking are you okay without having to ask it. Food is easier to talk about. If you've eaten, you're probably fine. If you haven't, something's wrong and she'll find out what. I've caught myself doing it 4 times since. With my sister, a colleague, even the delivery boy. The delivery boy was a mistake. He'd brought my food. Obviously he hadn't eaten my food. He looked at me very confused and said, not yet sir. I gave him a samosa from the bag. My wife saw the whole thing from the door and hasn't stopped laughing about it. She says I'm turning into my mother and she's not sure how she feels about that. What did you pick up from your mother without meaning to? A phrase, a habit, the way you fold clothes? I'd love to know I'm not the only one slowly turning into a parent. My mother doesn't know about any of this, by the way. If she finds out she'll be far too happy. She called this morning. First question, did you eat. I said yes. I hadn't.

Did you eat is how my mother says I love you without saying it. When I called her from a hostel in Pune for the first time, she asked that before she asked whether I was homesick. I do it with my younger cousin now. He told me once that nobody else asks him that, and I did not know what to say.

Mine is we'll see. My mother said it to every single thing I asked for as a kid. It always meant no. Can I go on the school trip, we'll see. Can I get a cycle, we'll see. The cycle came 4 years later. Last week my son asked for a PlayStation and I heard myself say it. Same tone and everything. He looked at me exactly the way I used to look at her.