Wednesday, August 10, 2011

So You Think I am Scary! Well....Boo!

So I have to say that I am really liking the themed blog posts. My average daily reads have gone from around 150-200 to a whopping 500-600. Granted I know for seasoned bloggers that is just a walk in the park, but for me that is exciting. Don't know whether it is actual content, the interest in the comments or just the fact that more people are learning about my blog. Whatever the case though....it makes me squeal worthy happy! Eeeeeee

Last week when the themes started....when it came to stories about me...I was kind of at a loss for words. While I am a consummate pro at making most everything about me, when it comes to actually talking about myself, I really don't like to tell stories on myself. Usually because I don't come out looking very good in the end. That is one of the reasons I chose this suggested theme because I thought it would be cathartic for me and on occasions....a real hoot for my readers. So here goes.

When I was growing up, my mother was actually pretty cool. She wasn't the cool mini skirt wearing, no curfew, let me put you on birth control kind of cool, but she was her own kind of cool none the less. When we were pre-driving age, Mom was always available to give us rides to the skating rink, the movies, the mall or wherever our teen hearts desired. During the summer my house was always full of latch key kids who didn't like being home on their own and whether they admitted it or not craved some supervision. During the school year....many Friday and Saturday nights when Mom wasn't chauffeuring us different places.....you could find my basement full of kids listening to music, playing pool, playing body Twister (an original game thought up by us when we couldn't find the actual Twister mat) and having a good time.

For the most part my friends liked/loved my mom. She had rules (no drinking, no drugs, no smoking....and no inappropriate behavior). Everyone knew the rules and life was good. Now this was not to say that if you crossed my mom that there weren't consequences. I do remember my mom grounding kids away from the house a couple of times (imagine that....grounding other peoples kids and them dying to be allowed to come back over) and there were a couple who were banished for life due to disrespectful behavior to Mom. The rest though....they liked if not loved Mom. Many came to visit Mom whenever they came to town or on a semi-regular basis, long after I left home. Yep....she was just that great and just that cool.

Jump ahead a few decades and life is much different. I am the mom now and believe me....I have done my share of carting kids around, housing kids who had no place else to go and hosting parties where my basement (the same basement might I add of yesteryear) was full of kids and yet the love is just not there. In fact....Z has told me numerous times over the last few years that I scare the bejeebers out of his friends. REALLY???? ME???? We are talking boys who are 6 feet tall or better and girls who I am pretty sure can hold their own with just about anybody. Come on people....I am barely over 5 feet tall. Am I really that scary? (Mark, Marni, Thiry, Steve and Chris.....don't you dare say a word!)

Honestly.....this whole thing baffles me. I have never even raised my voice to any of Z's friends. The closest I came to anger was when I caught a house full of boys sneaking out at 1 a.m. thinking they were going Lord knows where....planning to do Lord knows what?! I simply said "What do you think you are doing? You get yourselves back downstairs before I start calling parents!"  I am sure that it being 1 in the morning....I looked far scarier than I sounded. However, they came back in, went back downstairs and there were no further problems. Didn't seem too scary to me!

Apparently I have a reputation for being "scary" though. Really scary! Kids who have never even met me.....fear me. They assume I don't like them before I have even uttered a word to them. Z's ex-girlfriend was one of these. The first time I met her she was shaking because she was sure I didn't like her. Even after talking to her numerous times ...she was still sure that I was going to sprout horns and tail and spit venom at her. The truth was....I really actually liked her. I thought she was good for Z. When Z decided that the relationship wasn't working (it is high school after all) the first words out of her mouth were...."Your mom made you do this...right?!" I had to laugh.....not only did she fear me....but she had bestowed powers upon me that I simply do not have. I might control certain parts of Z's young life, but I simply have no control over his heart....but I guess this all goes with my scary persona!

Last night I found out that yet again I struck fear in a young girl. Again....REALLY? I am just amazed. Z I think gets a little weary of having to constantly work on kids perceptions of me. I flat out asked him why kids think I am so scary. There was no definitive answer. Perhaps it is the  look I give when I am not buying a story they really wish I would, or maybe it is the fact I lay the law down before any social gathering starts or before they leave my house as a group. Maybe it is because there are rules in my house and Z has a curfew and chores and has to check in. Maybe all this makes me scary. I just always thought it made me a MOM!

So you see, while most of my peers find me kooky, strange and possibly moderately humorous, there is a whole new generation that just finds me scary. Should I work on this and try to win these kids over and become the cool mom? Naw.....I am good with scary. Scary seems to actually be working for me!

And so now you know a little more about Lisa. Scared yet? Bwahahahahah Perhaps I should add that adjective in the "about me" section on the dating website. LOL Well on that note....here is hoping you have a cool and productive Wednesday....oh....and....BOO!

5 comments:

Marni said...

So, are you TELLING me I cant comment on your "scariness" (this is a word right?) or are you just SUGGESTING that I not comment on this aspect of your personality? Hummmm......Im just going to throw out there that Lisa was MY boss for a bit....and well...she could be pretty darn scary. But with my SWEETNESS (lol) in the mix we got along pretty well.
I would like to say that I always had a housefull of kids as mine were growing up. They always had a good time BUT they also knew that I had rules that had to be followed. And like Lisa said...I kind of think they like knowing there were boundries.

Blogreader said...

Speaking as someone whose mom died way too soon, I would say that both you and your mom sound like cool moms. I think a little fear in kids especially in the middle school to high school age group is a good thing. The fear keeps them on their toes and in line. I am new to your blog but really like this particular piece. Keep scaring those kids and keep writing these blogs. In both cases, it is a good thing.

Norm said...

Enjoyed the blog today. It reminded me of an incident many years ago. I forget what it was I left in my front yard, can of car wax maybe, but it disappeared. I grounded the whole neighborhood from visiting my kids. My kids hated it and thought it wasn't fair. I told them I should be able to leave a $100 bill on the driveway and still find it there the next day. Whatever it was, car wax, whatever, it showed up the next day, right where I had left it, and of course I lifted the restrictions just as quick as the stuff returned. Not sure if I was scary or just plain wrong, but it had the effect I wanted.

Not Scared said...

They probably see you as scary because you have rules and boundaries. To many kids these days, those are two unheard of and quite scary things. Because parents work and many have extra curricular lives such as partying, drugs, alcohol and so forth, a lot of kids are left to their own devices once they hit their teens. A mom that is actually available and actually has rules is probably terrifying and yet comforting because from what you say, they keep coming back. I would hold on to scary. It seems to work for you.

The Spaghetti Westerner said...

Hmmm...from reading your blog I can't imagine you as scary! But I do think there are worse things for kids to think of you than scary. It can definitely work to your advantage