lesson 34: mother's are just girls like us

"As opposed to..."

"What are you talking about?"

"Of course mothers are girls."

"I don't mean fe-male."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, there's a lot there outside of their roles in our lives. There's the one that replaced all of my thong underwear with practical grandma underwear, who tells me that I am either to skinny or too fat every time she sees me, the one that while telling me I'm too fat/skinny proceeds to offer me potatoes/tell me I am eating too much, the one that sends me wedding shower cards so that I can throw myself a wedding shower despite the fact that I am not actually engaged..."

"I think that you are getting of track here. This is starting to sound like a rant..."

"Oh. Yeah. Anyway, that woman... that mom... She's also just a girl. She's the girl who dreamed of a certain life when she first came to Canada, who had family and societal expectations placed on her regarding what choices she could make in life and love, who draws beautifully and instinctively, who takes joy in making music, who laughs easily, delights in a warm day or a breeze or the smell of fresh baked break, who dresses beautifully and with great care when she is going out, who likes looking in shop windows fingers pressed on glass, who blushes when she is the center of attention. She's the product of a lot of experiences, impressions, interpretations and reinterpretations that I know nothing about. That are hers and hers alone. She's that girl."

"So why is this important?"

"Well, the same way I love my friends, and always try to be open to their interpretations of the the world and their life experiences, and just love them, I need to do this with my mom too. My mom, the girl in the world."