I don't want to tell you how to live your life, Labs, but it's amazing how much less your mother will hassle you after you get a little spot of cancer.
I just learned that I share equal status on my mother's new charm bracelet with her two cats; we're her "three boys."
Um.
I have the best mom in the world.
"Oh, it's okay. Your sisters are all here."
Ouch.
Recent mom email reply to my most recent reply/query to her:
"Yes-I told you I was going with Sylvia to see Rod Stewart [!]-you made a noise when I told u, like u didn't believe I'd bother. Thought u knew I wouldn't be going to Audrey's funeral because of the pain I was having at the time [....] Hope you had a good time with your friend in D.C. Looking forward to talking with you. love, Mom"
Oh.
And where did Mom learn this "u" business?
The soft bigotry of low expectations: forget to send a card last year; pay the price in guilt for six months. Then, this year: "Oh! I LOVED your card! It cracked me up!"
Not that I did this, mind you.
Off-topic from the Crooked timber thread discussing AWB's lazy student.
Hey, kids, when *you* teach a six year old how to ride a bike, you'll realize that a 450-mile drive is *nothing*.
That said, I sent my mom a card and will see her next weekend. Probably.
John: off-topic really?
Quoting from the linked comment:
"Sorry, no appeal, no mercy.
That's why we call it the real world."
This has the feel of: don't touch this. No, don't, really.
Meh, not sure I want to contribute to a threadjack, though.
That's not the linked comment. The linked comment involved vestal virgins.
My mom actually guilt-tripped me a whole lot less when I lived 1500 miles away. Apparently she does her best work up-close.
Hmm.
All the best things in life do.
"Brother 1 and Brother 2 haven't called yet, but they took me out to dinner last night."
3: My late mother was even better than Heebie's mom. No nagging, no guilt.
2: Hey, the cats aren't happy about it either.
A prompt mom is a great blessing, if she doesn't nag.
One reason I still love my first wife is how she dealt with a teenage son announcing he was a vegetarian.
"Christ! Couldn't you have decided you were gay? That would have been a whole lot less trouble... Right, well, if you're a vegetarian, here's a cheese sandwich."
And she served him precisely that at every meal for the next fortnight. It was always the same cheese, too. he says.
A fortnight was all it took. Since then, the planet has taken a second place to his fleshly appetites.
21: My and my brother's vegetarianism led my mom to cook with less meat (e.g., pasta sauce without italian sausage), and my dad saw a 40-point drop in his cholesterol. My mom is nicer than your first wife.
Rock is all about the minerals.
My late mother showed up my dream two nights ago to weigh in in my defense. I love my mom.
21: I'm going to tuck that story away, in case it ever happens to me. No son or daughter of mine, as long as you live under my roof, etc.
28: I fed you meat once, you undiplomatic lout.
21: Well, the joy of it was that she didn't refuse to serve him vegetarian food, exactly.
My mom's been calling almost every night this week to remind me about Mother's Day. I've never forgotten; she's just really keyed up about it this year. I sent her a CD she wanted, and it made her cry. But today, she knows I'm going to call, and I think is enjoying the delicious uncertainty of "when," so I'm going to wait until the sun is getting low in the sky, just as anticipation begins to edge its way toward resentment.
It's shameless how we flirt.
I'm going to wait until the sun is getting low in the sky
Cool, I should be done by then.
"Mom, I'm a vegan with allergies. I only eat roots."
"Mom, I'm a vegan with allergies. I only eat roots."
An unrelieved diet of grated horseradish is indicated.
is a party-pooper
My ass.
Mom: so have you thought about when you're coming up this summer?
me:
Mom: in other words, no.
blah blah blah, 4th of July blah? remember we got in trouble that last time off the end of the dock, etc. blah? dunno.
Mom, 5 minutes later: I've got to go. I'm coloring my hair, and I'm already 3 minutes over. I don't want to come out blond!
me: Oh, no. Go, go, I am cooking beans for minestrone soup [vegetarian, blast you]. Go, go. Love, me.
sorry, formatting a little weird there
21: Forgive me for asking and all, but I assume the kid had the option of fixing his own dinner and this wasn't just a "cheese sandwiches until gastroinestinal distress changes your so-called mind" situation? I grew up in a seriously authoritarian family and it didn't--as you may deduce from my posts here--do me any noticeable good.
Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Frowners!
If her parents had been a little stricter Frowner would have turned out OK, but it's too late now.
Frowner, you're supposed to assume that vegetarian dining is so bizarre and challenging that nobody can handle it in a cooperative fashion.
39: Almost certainly true. I often reflect that my problem is that my will was bent rather than broken. When I have children, whole new heights of parental cruelty (nothing that leaves bruises, though; all psychic) will be attained.
I'm coloring my hair
My mom's Mother's Day activity was also hair coloring.
Comity?
38: He's (he was then) a teenage boy. Major re-engineering would be required to get him to fix his own dinner rather than helping to save the world.
Hey, my mother's been living with me and my brother since last August (my father's been in hospital). I actually get on with her pretty well and am glad to have where we can provide support etc. but it's still weird and kinda stressful. I spend more time with her/ talking to her than anyone else in my life and there are times I open my mouth and hear something in her voice come out.