“I made up my mind…” said my mother over the phone. I was somewhere in my 30’s. “…to get rid of you.” It was her finest moment in her pathetic little life where she served her man through her chosen doormat career. Get rid of you. Get rid of you. It made her strong! She was grownup! Get rid of cockroaches. Get rid of mold in the bathroom. Get rid of your daughter!
And she stuck to it. No phone calls, no letters, just “CLICK!” if one were to attempt. I don’t even know where she is at this writing.
In the end, I cannot forgive any mother of any child in the world out there who would proudly announce that she “made up her mind,” to get rid of her firstborn. I can only forgive Mother Nature, in Her wisdom of random selection that includes everyone from saints to serial killers, that such an ill person would exist. I am also sorry that I ever knew her. “Polite People in a Perfect House.”
And she stuck to it!
About the Author: Sue Langenberg
Sue Langenberg’s “Hot Flashes” column was born at weekly publication Freeport iNK, (now defunct) in Northern Illinois. It followed her B.A. from Northern Illinois University, class of ’98. It was the year that they let hags out! The iNK column began at her keyboard whenever she had some imaginary bone to pick about life or a typing tantrum to feel better. Along the way, the paper also published her theatre/cultural submissions and various other assignments.
