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Me: Thanks for joining me! Are you ready?
Mom: I'm ready. Is anything I say going to be used against me in a court as evidence? WAIT ARE YOU TYPING THAT??? Ugh.
Me: What is one thing that I might not know about you?
Mom: One thing you might not know about me is that all through middle school, I used to think that I saw this giant yeti type thing in the woods behind our school, and I had half a dozen of my friends convinced they could see it too! It sounds incredibly silly now, but it's true. I also used to think I could see it from my bedroom window sometimes. It was something about the trees and the leaves and the way they looked, but it was very bizarre! I guess we had vivid imaginations. We used to spend a lot of time in the woods. We would set up camp down there on the weekends. But that yeti haunted me for a long time. It really did.
Me: That's great.
Mom: No it's not. I think I was warped.
Me: Tell me about an(other) embarrassing moment you had in middle school.
Mom: This is VERY embarrassing, Tony Hickman had a massive crush me. Everybody knew it. He was very geeky. I'm not sure how to describe it, he was just VERY geeky. My entire grade ganged up on us, LITERALLY. One day it was lunch break, and there was a single stall uni-sex bathroom on our hall, and somehow they shoved me and him in there together! In the dark! I basically threatened to castrate him if he came one step toward me. Those kids were horrible to him, and since they knew he liked me they used me against him. It was embarrassing and terrifying, and so FRICKING middle school! Gosh. Tony Hickman. *far away gaze* He was a geek. Now can you ask me a question that makes me sound more interesting?
Me: Tell me something about yourself you wish more people knew.
Mom: I feel very deeply about many things. I just don't feel the need to harp on about it like some people do. I'm way more sensitive than the average person would peg me as.
Me: You came to the US from England when you were only 22. Tell me one thing about American culture you didn't expect.
Mom: The pace. I don't know why I didn't expect it. Even in Los Angeles in 1988 I found myself getting overwhelmed in traffic. That I was NOT really prepared for. I felt like I was entertainment for the people I met. They were fascinated by me. I was struck by the fact that they didn't seem to be very familiar with people from other places. Between me and my friend who was Swedish, they were just fascinated with everything about us! It got old after a while. I don't like to be the center of attention.
Me: Do you find that your daughters have similarities to you that you expected?
Mom: Yes. You in particular, are very much like me. I don't know if that's a good thing, but... I think my children have gotten from me a love of books, and I think you've picked up that people are important. You feel deeply, like I do. You've picked up a deep sensitivity from me.
Me: What's one trait your children have that surprise you?
Mom: Olivia is quite pragmatic. She's much more black and white than I could ever dream to be. And that's not a negative thing, but it surprises me!
Me: Is there a lesson you learned the hard way that looking back you didn't need to learn that way?
Mom: *cringe* I've learned ALL my lessons the hard way. One lesson I've learned the hard way is marriage. Marriage has been the hardest thing ever, but I can't imagine not going through it. Your father is my entire world! I don't know what I would do if he wasn't here. After 30 years you really are one person, as silly as that sounds. You meld into one another. Heck, you even start to look like each other! It's terrifying.
Me: Thanks for joining me.
Mom: HA! Your pleasure.
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