And then there is my mother...

Sunday, I experienced a conversation between a mother and daughter that made me realize I am beginning to fall securely on the mother side of this balancing see saw. The young girl is about 11 years old and her mother is not a whole lot older than me. As we stood in the aisle after the last service of the day, we chatted about miscellaneous things and then my hair came up. They liked my new cut. I thanked them and the mother went on to mention that she needs a new cut herself.

"You should get it like hers," says the daughter.
"Oh, I should? You'd like it on me?" the mother asks.
"Yeah. I want to get mine cut too."
"What are you going to do?"
The daughter motions across her face that she wants longer shaggy bangs...
as the daughter is doing this someone calls from across the sanctuary to ask the mother a question. She answers the person and turns her full attention (body, eyes) back to her daughter.
"How was that again?"
The daughter makes the motion across her face again...
"That's what you want?" (absolutely no judgment in voice...)
The girl erupts in a passionate, "Yeah, you'd never let me do it."
"That's not what I said... (she is obviously uncomfortable that this conversation is happening with me there but is calm and cool) I just hadn't hear this idea before. It might be cute."
"Never mind. " Big eye rolls and huge sigh, slight foot stomp.
Then to me, "She'd never let me do it."
The mom shoots me a deflated look and then sighs. Instantly, I realize that I am on her side. She couldn't win when it comes to hair. Which is what I go on to say.
"Between my sister and I, my mom says she just can't say anything...we just hear her differently than how she means it. There is some filter we hear our mother's through."





So, when my mom called to tell me that she was tired of seeing the faces of "Sarah Palin" and "Hillary Clinton" from SNL up on my blog...I remained cool.
"Maybe it is time to take them down," she mentioned.
"Oh, ok, thanks mom...I'll get right on that," I deadpan in response.
"No, no you can do whatever you want....I'm just tired of their faces."
"I can do whatever I want on my own blog?" (grin, grin)
"Stop that--You know what I mean, I just can't say anything..."

One foot stepping forward into motherhood...one foot securely planted in daughterhood.


Oh, and I imagine that the SNL skit has been moved to another page with this entry. ;) So, there you go.