but doesn’t.
- I was only 18 years old when I had her. I was still very much a child and didn’t know a damn thing about “birthin’ no babies.”
- I was a single parent with no job skills. I worked factory jobs on second shift for four or five years.
- Says she grew up in the back seat of a Volkswagen. This is more or less true.
- I tried to choke her by rolling her head up in the car window when she was about four.
- One time she was in her little car seat (not like today’s car seats, think folding chair) and it folded up with her in it. I was driving along the freeway and I hear these muffled cries from the back seat. I turn around to find her folded over with her face pressed against her knees and her skinny little arms flailing about. I couldn’t stop to help her until I could pull off on the next exit. Sorry Kid, but after 38 years this is still funny.
- I smoked.
- I drank.
- I read all the time. “Mom, will you STOP READING and pay attention to me!”
- Made her play Scrabble with me incessantly.
- Forced her to listen to the Allman Brothers music. Hey Dani, do you still remember all the words to Whipping Post?
- Worked full-time and took classes full-time. For a few years I only saw her on weekends. Sorry Dan.
- We visited some friends in Arizona for a couple of months when she was five. She was in the sun so often she looked Hispanic. I am sooo not exaggerating. Dani refers to this as her “baby melanoma” phase.
Holy Crap! This could be like the never-ending list. I better stop before I get all depressed and filled with self-loathing.
Bob Wayne Said:
on May 20, 2010 at 11:37 pm
No need for self-loathing, Sweetie. We can all loath you plenty with no help from you. In fact, I hear there’s a new MeetUp called Loathing Dawn and Tequila. But considering your daughter talks to you on the phone almost every day, someone obviously loves her mom in spite of all your attempts to turn her into “the lost child.”
dawnpatika Said:
on May 21, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Yes, incredibly, she knows everything about me and still loves me anyway. Shrug, I’m a lucky gal.
Dani Said:
on May 21, 2010 at 2:47 pm
You are the best Mom I ever had. You gave me many “unique” experiences. One of the best parts of all of this in retrospect is, I found out all of my friends were jealous of us. They all thought it would be cool to live all bohemian, you know with no furniture, more books than a library, more plants than a garden center not to mention we listened to such cool music. Go figure.
I learned many valuable lessons and lived to laugh about it all. We have the best Mother/Daughter relationship of anyone I know. Thanks for that.
Love The Icky Child.
dawnpatika Said:
on May 21, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Indeed. Next time I’ll write about Why My Daughter loves me…
Like the spur of the moment trip to Walnut Grove to see the girlhood home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, filling up the Le Car with lilacs on Summit Avenue, pizza every Friday nigth at Davanni’s (with the added bonus of seeing Reene squirt cola through her nose), and watching Young Frankenstien so many times we both knew all the dialog. Good times!
dawnpatika Said:
on May 21, 2010 at 3:15 pm
I replied to your comment on the web site.
Ha, so funny you’re friends were jealous. Bwa, their parents did NOT feel the same way. But, then again, they were boring and OLD. Heh, heh, heh.