November 5, 2001
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Tell Mamma What?
My life lately has been episodes of soap opera interrupted only by commercials for cleaning products and self-help seminars. As in all good soap operas there are multiple story lines which cross and converge at critical points. My brother is the youngest so I'll pick on him first. As you and I are looking at these words, he's in Korea playing soldier. He's apparently very good at what he does, and he's getting a lot of satisfaction from the work. On the other hand the script writers can't resist throwing in a dysfunctional roommate, stress over maintaining levels of fitness, the challenge of meeting field assignments, and the psychological stress of having almost everyone in his family discussing his bank account. Hey it was his idea that we should all be signatories so we could help him shift money around while he's overseas!
Most of you know my next youngest sibling as Madeline. She's the comic relief. If it isn't one thing in her life its another. Her husband is laid up with a back injury, she lives in my Mom's backyard, and her kids are normal. Her perspective on life is generally a few degrees off a straight course so she lurches along entertaining the rest of us inadvertently.
The second oldest in the group is the newest to Xanga. My sister, Sam, lives in Minnesota with her husband and two kids. Her son is 18 and living at home while he tries to work out the future he may or may not be spending with his pregnant girlfriend.
I'm 38 years old and having an identity crisis. Actually I think the crisis is mostly over. I've landed on my feet, or at least head up. The next thing to be determined is whether or not my new understanding of who I am and what I'm all about is one that is going to make my marriage better or worse.
Well, that's the Soap Opera Digest version of it all. All that's left is finding a suitable name. It seems to me that the common element is though we may talk it out amongst ourselves. We may rant, rave, cry, laugh and become hysterical. The one thing we do NOT do is tell my mother. Don't get me wrong. She's a perfectly normal Southern Momma. Which means if she doesn't know, she can't hurt us. So I think that future episodes of the drama should be labeled "Tell Momma What?" in the tv guide.
Comments (23)
"The next thing to be determined is whether or not my new understanding of who I am and what I'm all about is one that is going to make my marriage better or worse." ...hmmmm, am I going to tune in one day to find my name in the credits as a guest villian?
Oh bloody great.
I'm the 666th visitor. This is not good.
"Tell Momma What?" or "Please, don't tell Momma" either one would work!!
Totally funny!
You mean my life isn't the only one that is a soap opera? I like reading about yours--makes me feel like I'm at home.
I love my soap opera life! I wouldn't change it for the world. Who cares if it's been hard? At least I'm not starving and prostituting myself if Guatamala. It's nice to be an American Soap star!
You know, a soap opera is the greatest opiate religion of the people.
hmmm, maybe reality is just a figment of a mental patients' delusions.
"Momma's On A Need To Know Basis" Great blog. : )
God Bless - Dale
I get one, YOU get two; eProp that is.
I'm forgetful - you're just stingy.
ROFL...If MY mother knew 1/4 of what she doesn't need to know the whole world would explode...lol.
A quick message to you and everyone, please go to this link, and if you know the person the site belongs to, please help her!! http://www.xanga.com/home.asp?user=azure_mariposa
I hope you don't mind me posting this in your comment box, but i'm telling everyone I can in the hope of finding out that this girl is alright. Or in the hope that it's a joke, poem, or anything other than what I think it means. It's the only way I can do this. Pass the link on and help!!! you can read the entry on my site if you need more info first, thank you.
Nice to know I am not the only one
Hey Terri I have a caption for the profile pic of the kids, "Help us, Help us!! We've fallen and we can't get up!!"
Your sis is the comic relief, isn't she! I have one of the pragmatic Southern mothers. I can still remember her telling me "What have you been up to and don't tell me anything I don't want to know.....
YOU ARE SOOOOOOO WRONG!!!!!!!!!
"Tell Momma What" was the expose book I have threatened to write about all the horrors and terrors and tortures I had to go through growing up in a household with 3 older sisters. And you know that. Just wait til I get to the chapter on "Stolen moments in my life...." This one will be the start. Stealing my title. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Bad influence. Bad influence. Bad influence. That is 10 min in the corner for every year old you are, so 10 x 38 / 60 .... lets see, you should get to come out in 6 hours or so. And sleeping at night doesn't count.
{h}
wormy
Now Wormy, we all know that all the best books are made into films at some point. But NOT if the author send the producer to the corner! Nope doesn't work that way - al that does is get the author kicked out of the creative process, no consulting on revisions, no discussion about major changes to the story . . .
you guys are silly!! Everyone KNOWS I will be the star when it becomes a "Lifetime Movie of the Week"!!
Sorry Madeline. I figure I get to be the "star" because I'm more dramatic. You get to be the comic relief.
Thought of another name:
"KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY"
Didn't they already do this on TV?
They called it "Soap".
heh heh heh
Just here, watching the soap.
Love your writing. My sister and I have a mother who loves to be the "martyr ". We've learned over the years that sometimes it's just easier not to tell her some things so we've put her on a "need to know" basis too. She says one thing to my sis and a different thing to me. She also says things to me about my sis and to my sis about me . . . I guess she doesn't think we'll compare notes. It's really kind of sad.
well? does the soaper ever get less sudsy?
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