Wow, very interesting!

You know, I am sometimes awed by my two daughters. I've often felt that anything I can do, one or the other or both of them can do better. But that makes me feel *proud* not *envious.* And when one of them shows a trait I don't have, like the ability to stand up for herself without fear of being called a "smart-aleck kid," I think, "That's my girl."

Those butchered home haircuts.... ugh. I got so many of them. I also remember one day, I was around 10, she sat me down and, just feeling silly, started doing my hair in some outrageous, unconventional way I knew everybody was going to laugh at when I got to school. I told her I didn't like it and that I was going to take it down as soon as I got away. Well, she took it down, (good) but then she yelled at me about how she would never have said such a thing to her mother, because she had more respect.

Well, I seriously doubt Mammaw would have sent my mother to school with a deliberately ridiculous hair style. Why did she WANT me to go to school looking funny, when she already knew I got laughed at and bullied enough as it was? I'll never understand, unless it's that "eliminating the competition" thing.

More mother-to-English dictionary:
"Smart-aleck" = "anyone who disagrees with me."
"Kid" = "anyone younger than I am, even if they are a legal adult."
"Respect" = "shutting up and not saying how you feel."