Mother's Day

File Under: Mom

December 1931

1955

1988

With my sister Georgette, May 2007

Today is Mother's day. Happy Mother's day to all of the moms out there who read my blog. Happy Mother's day to Z, aka my Mom.

Beth's blog, found HERE, inspired this post. I commented on one of her blog entries (sadly I can't remember which one) and it brought back memories from the 80's with my mom.

My oldest sister and I are almost 8 years apart. My mom didn't take a great deal of interest in my sister's taste in music, though she was fully aware that my sister liked "that disco music."

My mom drove me to school every day. On car trips, I always sat in the front seat (I was the kid who got car sick so I was put up front to curtail the urge to barf.) I controlled the radio. I listened to "Top-40" radio. Remember when that term was inclusive of everything popular? It wasn't just dance, or rock or country, it was a mix of all of those sounds. My mom became familiar with the songs I liked. And when I really liked something, I controlled the tape deck in the car, too.

Mom learned to like The Go-Go's. She knew their songs, knew the names of the band members, she could even tell me when she was someplace and heard one of their songs being played. And she knew the difference between The Bangles and The Go-Go's! She also liked Genesis, Billy Joel, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, and The Thompson Twins. She enjoyed their song "Hold Me Now." She commented that the falsetto voice that sings the follow lines in the last chorus sounds like the Monty Python men when they used to do skits as women and speak in high voices. That image became forever solidified in my mind. She wasn't a big fan of Madonna (though she loves her in the movie 'A League of Their Own' - that's one of her favorite films), and like me, wasn't a fan of the hair bands. She did like Van Halen for some reason. Not sure where that came from.

To this day, my mom still recognizes those singers. Yes, it would be difficult for her to forget The Go-Go's. She has decided that Jane is her favorite (sorry, Belinda). Occasionally she'll watch VH1 Classic and excitedly tell me if she saw a video she remembered from back in the day. She even went so far as to scramble to video record a segment on The Go-Go's that was airing, she proudly said "I got most of it, I managed to get what Jane was saying, and the video they played, it was 'Our Lips Are Sealed.'" And to show her support, she even watched Belinda dance on "Dancing With The Stars," and booed when she was voted off, calling it "stupid and unfair!"

I guess I'm pretty lucky. My mom accepts me for who I am, she loves my friends, and she makes VHS tapes for me. Happy Mother's Day, mom! I love you!!