I Can do that, I've Seen Mom do it. . .

I can do that, I have seen my Mom do it a hundred times.  This is the the thought that bounces around in my head right before something goes horribly wrong in the kitchen or anywhere really.  Case and point, I grew up watching my Mom make gravy for Sunday lunch and here come those awful words...  I can do that, I have seen Mom do it a thousand times.   Those were the words that I uttered right before my first attempt at making gravy after my sweet hubby and I were married.   Just because you have seen it done does not mean you can do it.   My first attempt at gravy was very sad and bless my dear hubby for trying to eat what I had made.  We could have spackled the walls with that concoction, it was very sad.  I just knew I could make gravy, like I said, I had seen Mom do it a thousand times at least over the years.  There is an art to making gravy though, I am proud to say that after twenty three years of marriage I have perfected that art.  My first successful gravy was, chip beef and gravy, and it was very good and it was many months after that disastrous attempt.
At my first job after the hubbs and I were married, I was always the first person at the office in the mornings.  My boss asked me, since I was the first one in, if I would start the coffee.  My reply was, sure I can, I have seen my Mom do it plenty of times.  I did not drink coffee at this point and I do not drink it often even now, so I really did not know how to make coffee.   I would not dare tell my boss no, that I could not make coffee.  That first morning for my new task was disastrous as par for the course.  They never asked me to make coffee again.
I told you all that to share another coffee catastrophe at work yesterday.   A new co-worker was asked to make coffee, actually he volunteered to make coffee.  I saw him struggling with the pot so I approached to help out.  I still do not drink much coffee and I do not make coffee at all so I really did not know how to help my co-worker.   There was water coming from everywhere and pouring out on to the counter and we could not get it to stop.  It was the blind leading the blind, but I could not just stand there and let him drown in hot water.  (no pun intended)  After almost half of the water had gushed out he realized he had not put the part that had the coffee grounds back where it belonged.  Once he did that every thing was fine.  We both laughed and he admitted that at home his wife made the coffee and I admitted I did not make coffee at all.
I guess today is a tribute to my Mom and all the things I thought I could do because I had watched her do it a million times.  This should make for some very interesting conversation over Thanksgiving.
What does your Mom do well that you thought you could do just because you watched her do it so many times?