MEET MOMMA

Do people really draw straws to make decisions? Flip coins? Or play Rock Scissors Paper? Melissa needed to make a decision but couldn’t.  Everything in her body was telling her… warning her…begging her not to go to her mom’s.  A lifetime of being guilted into submission was going to end today.  She took her foot with chipped polish and whipped it across the carpet drawing a symbolic line in the sand.

Forget this head or tails decision making. She did not need a lucky coin to tell her she was right.  Her head told her to take her tail to the mall. She wasn’t in the mood for mama drama today. She really wanted to take time for herself .

 “I need to get these raggedy toes done. Maybe buy a new outfit. I may even see a movie. I never get to spend time by myself. So what’s wrong with that?”

Pausing to contemplate, “Nothing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.”

She turned to go to her bedroom to find the perfect tennis shoes to match her shorts. As she walked past the opened door to the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of her reflection and jumped in amazement.

She doubled back to the mirror, thinking the intensity of what she saw would fade, but it didn’t. She saw the resemblance of her mom in her face more than ever before. People always said she looked just like Candice, but it wasn’t until the past few years she began to notice it. Today it was undeniable and strong. She was having one of those Simba gazing in the water and seeing Mufasa moments.

She moved from shock, to denial and then to pride. She smirked as she reminded herself that the woman she had become was because of the woman Candice was. Despite her mom’s faults, she had given her and Alyssa the very best. So helping her mom lick envelopes for a couple of hours should not be an issue.

“She always wins!”, she whined as she stormed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom to put on shoes. Just then she realized she had to change out of her shorts. There was no way she was stepping foot in her mom’s house in those shorts. She could only imagine what her mom would say. Melissa was not in the mood for any commentary on her wardrobe today.

She quickly changed into a pair of oversized sweat pants, T-shirt and comfortable flip flops, grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

Twenty minutes later she was pulling up in her mom’s driveway. She got out the car and slammed the door, “Uhh, she always wins. Gotta love her, though.”

As she unlocked the front door, Candice jumped from around the corner, “You could have called first. You scared me half to death. What are you doing here?”

Offended and confused, “What do you mean what am I doing here? You asked me to come help you address invitations.”

“Yeah, but you told me no.”

Rubbing her ears, “Mom, where are the invitations?” Walking towards the kitchen before she changed her mind about helping.

“Well, thanks for coming.”, as she noticed her daughter’s frustration she walked to get the invitations and kissed Melissa on her forehead.

It took them an hour to finish addressing, sealing and stamping the invitations. To Melissa’s surprise, she actually enjoyed it. They swapped stories about their week, discussed a few TV shows they both watched and updated each other on bits of extended family gossip.

Melissa really did love her mom and enjoyed spending time with her.

Just as Melissa reflected on how much she enjoyed spending time with her mom, Candice broke the silence, “I can’t believe you are wearing shoes with your toes out. Look at that polish. It has to be at least a month old. You need to get your toes done. ”

Laughing out loud at the irony, “Actually mom, I would have been sitting with my toes in a tub of warm bubbling water right now, but I decided to come help you.”

“Oh, well maybe when you finish here you can go get your toes and your hair done.”

“My hair, what’s wrong with my hair.”

“You know I am not liking this natural thing on you. Some people have the texture to do it but you don’t. Yours just looks kind of kinky and messy. It really doesn’t become you.”

Melissa kissed her mom on the forehead, grabbed her keys and headed towards the door, “Mom, have a great day. I will call you later.”

“So you are upset because I told you that you needed your toes done and your hair pressed. It’s true, right? You get bent out of shape too easily.”

Melissa did not stop to respond. 

But Candice was relentless and followed her out the door.

“What is it with you lately? You always have an attitude with me. I can’t say anything without you getting pissed off! All I said was that you ...?”

“Mom, you don’t need to say it again. It’s not about my toes or my hair. I’m just sick of you having something to say about everything! And you never care if you hurt my feelings or not.”

“Hurt your feelings? What are you, 16?”

“No, I am a 33 year old grown woman who has the right to live my life without fearing what her mom might say. Do you know I changed clothes before I came over here because I knew you would criticize me? That’s crazy!”

Just then, Alyssa pulled up to her mom’s house. As she walked up, Melissa stormed off.

Alyssa stopped to give her sister a hug but Melissa never broke stride towards the car.

“What’s wrong with you?” Alyssa asked puzzled.

“I can only take her in doses and I have swallowed all I can handle today.” Melissa says as she opens and slams the door to her car.

She sat in the car trying to sort through her emotions. Was she over reacting? Why did she feel so angry right now? Had she been disrespectful to her mom? Right as she put the car in drive, Alyssa opens the passenger door and says “Let’s talk.”

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  So you have met Melissa and Candice. Now you have the option to create Alyssa. Chime in on how you think Alyssa personality should be. Comment below.