Chances are, you caught the wildly popular viral video series last year that compared 1988 moms to 2018 moms. It was made by the hilarious Meredith Masony, of That's Inappropriate, and Tiffany Jenkins, of Juggling the Jenkins, who teamed up to remind us of just how badass our own '80s moms were (and lucky that we all survived), as well as how incredibly EXTRA 2018 moms can be, for better or worse. Now, they're back with a brand new parody — this time, with a summer vacay edition 2019.
Any '80s kid worth her salt can remember getting kicked out of the house after breakfast and being told not to come back until dinnertime.
It wasn't that the moms were being mean — they were just being Moms. They wanted us to get outside and run around and burn off all our wild and crazy kid-ness. After all, it was SUMMER. (And also, they just wanted to watch Days of Our Lives in peace and talk to Janet on the landline. Can you blame them?)
Meanwhile, 2019 moms spend their days coming up with Pinterest-inspired itineraries to make sure every single minute of summer is accounted for.
Jenkins channels how over-the-top moms today are in comparison with absolute perfection — suggesting afternoon activities for her kids what involve sunrise goat yoga. (Which honestly sounds like an awesome idea, but I suppose that's just the 2019 in me talking.)
While millennial moms are googling answers to all their random questions, 1989 moms knew to resort to one trust-worthy source: Cosmo.
Cosmopolitan was there when Mom needed to get relationship advice. Or learn how to better tease her hair with Aquanet. Or get useful tips on how best to broil in the summer sun, thanks to the wonders of baby oil.
In other words: It was the bible.
But 2019 moms know better -- which is why they are always sure to cover their kids in SPF 1,000, as Jenkins illustrates.
YEP. The comparisons feel oh-so-real (and are pretty hilarious). It's no wonder there was so much material to work with when Jenkins and Masony put their heads together on a script.
After all, the world has changed — a LOT. And parenting changed right along with it.
"I think parents in the '80s had no idea where there kids were all day," Masony says, when looking back on how things used to be. "I don’t think that’s because they didn’t care, it was just a different world. Social media tells us that we need to know everything all the time. That is exhausting as a parent."
Masony admits she channeled her own mother when playing her version of a 1989 mom.
"She worked and we all knew we needed to stay outside and not to come back until the street lights were on," she says.
That might be why Masony feels she has a bit more of the '80s mom in her — whereas Tiffany is more of "the anxious helicopter mom."
Needless to say, the pair had a blast making the video, and Masony says the parts basically "wrote themselves."
"Tiffany is freaking hilarious," she says of Jenkins, who is currently on a live tour around the US. "I sketch out the script and then Tiffany and I go over it … she makes the lines come to life. She is truly a great actress. She puts her spin on it and I die laughing!"
That's probably why the clip has gone BONKERS on Facebook in the last few days, racking up over 5 million views and thousands of comments from people who couldn't help but see themselves — and their own mothers — in the video.
"So I’m a 2019 mom with the sunscreen, everything else I’m 1989," wrote one woman.
"I’m definitely the 80’s mom!!" wrote another.
In fact, most people chimed in by either tagging a fellow mom or weighing in on which mom they were — because yes, it's just that relatable.
At the end of the day, it's not about who did it better (because either way, you can see there's a whole lotta love there).
But Masony does think 2019 Mom could maybe take a page or two from 1989 Mom's book.
And if she did? Perhaps the lesson worth learning is that everything is going to be just fine.
"Life happens and we have to roll," says Masony. "No need to sit on top of our kids, they can figure out most stuff without us."
Amen to that.
