I’ve avoided cnn.com since its 2008 presidential primary coverage started giving me fits of resentful incredulousness.
But sometimes following a link from another site will take me there, which is how I found this RealSimple article: Ten questions to ask your mother.
Judith Newman, the author, briefly mentions that she and her husband, though married, “could never stand to live together”, giving me more ammunition for my I’m not as different as I think I am thought-pile. Married but living apart happens. My husband and I are not that special, and that is very good to know.
I’ll leave you to read the collection of answers in the original article if you follow the link, but I like the questions so much, I’m listing them here. Will I ask my own mother any of them? That’s highly doubtful. One, I’m afraid to hear most of the answers and, two, my mother is not an open book.
Defensiveness on top of why are you asking would just pave the way to criticism of either me or my parenting style. But if my daughter wants to know any of these answers and more, that sounds like a great mother’s day conversation which would be a very nice mother’s day gift.
- What’s the one thing you would have done differently as a mom?
- Why did you choose to be with my father?
- In what ways do you think I’m like you? And not like you?
- Which one of us kids did you like the best?
- Is there anything you have always wanted to tell me but never have?
- Do you think it’s easier or harder to be a mother now than when you were raising our family?
- Is there anything you regret not having asked your parents?
- What’s the best thing I can do for you right now?
- Is there anything that you wish had been different between us — or that you would still like to change?
- When did you realize you were no longer a child?
The day you found out you were nothing special in comments…
