LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT MY MOTHER

The formative period for building character for eternity is in the nursery. The mother is queen of that realm and sways a scepter more potent than that of kings or priests. ~Author Unknown

With boys you always know where you stand. Right in the path of a hurricane. It's all there. The fruit flies hovering over their waste can, the hamster trying to escape to cleaner air, the bedrooms decorated in Early Bus Station Restroom. ~Erma Bombek 'Mothers and sons'

Holden: Describe in single words only the good things that come into your mind about... your mother.
Leon: My mother?
Holden: Yeah.
Leon: Let me tell you about my mother.
[Leon shoots Holden with a gun he had pulled out under the table] ~BLADE RUNNER

Like poles repel, opposite poles attract. This universal fact does not only apply to Magnets as some of you may believe...it often applies to people. The difference between magnets and people is that the fact remains constant and unchangeable for the magnet. Other people, usually very old ones these days, will say that Birds of a feather flock together...I am not sure if this ancient wisdom is as valuable as the majority of the rest of the ancient wisdom that is oft handed to us by Grandparents and Great Grandparents.

My mother and I are like poles.

I want to state right at the start of this chapter that we no longer repel, thus my comment about it not being a universal constant where people are concerned. We are now, probably the best buddies we have ever been. 

But back in the day we were repelling each other like it was an Olympic sport and anyone caught in the flux between us needed to practise 'Duck and cover' quickly and effectively if they were to survive!

Adventurous, outspoken, stubborn, artistic, opinionated, argumentative...I think it's fair to say that my mother and I share these traits along with, to differing degrees, Easily bored, rebellious, mischievous and quick tempered. If you were to look at both myself and my sister and then to my parents..every single one of you, when asked, would place my sister with my father and myself with my mother. I am my mothers son, without a Shadow of a doubt. There are differences of course, some subtle, some less so. My mother is extremely artistic, can paint and draw in any medium..I can imagine and write (Well I like to believe I can I have several unfinished novels lying up in the loft) but I can't paint or draw for toffee.

There is a reason for this post, not to say there is no reason for all the others, but this post in particular has been prompted by the fact that my newest follower is the above mentioned mother. After a recent visit to see her new Grandson Sam, to check out our house, to meet our loyal black Lab Wicket and to be sure I am getting fed right..my mother found her way one evening to my blog.

Ruth was of course already aware that I was throwing the contents of my life bag across the internet with little care or concern for my own reputation and had previously voiced concerns for everyone else's reputation, but had not as far as I am aware, read very much of it at all. However, things are different now, we have been through some tough times, mum more so than me..I have recently lost A father and a Grandfather, but mum has lost a Husband and a Father..the two most important things in most girl's lives I believe. These losses had helped bring us even closer together, although in truth we had started drifting back towards each other when dad's illness first got diagnosed.

Looking back over past events with eyes that are now old enough to see things from more than one extremely narrow angle, I understand her infinitely better...and I think she gets me just a bit more these days than she did back then. I can't blame the generation gap, there isn't one..in truth at times, we could be the same age..such are our similarities and behaviours, although I often despair at mothers ongoing struggle with the internet, texting from phones and most other modern gadgetry. In truth, she's chilled out a fair bit..and I've gotten a little bit more serious.

 We've met in the middle, something that 20 years ago if it had been suggested to either of us we would have told you to bugger off.

Anyway...welcome to my story Mother...I guess you have every right to read it, seeing as how you instigated the whole thing, set the wheels in motion, waved the chequered flag and what have you. Everyone else, panic not for my tale will loose no steam, it will continue as it has for a while yet, though I can see the end in the distance.

It's not over just yet.