Stream of Conscious Saturday — ma
Ma is what my mom and her sibs called their mother, my grandma. When I tried to call her ma she jumped all over my case and wouldn’t hear of me or my sibs using that term. We were expected to call her mom. Nothing else would do. She continued to call her mother ma. I think the reason she didn’t want us using that term is because she hated her mother. Sounds extreme all the way around as I type it. We got used to mom, but it morphed over the years to mum.
When I had my sons, now that I think about it, we may have gone through that identical process. I don’t hate my mother, but I did in earlier years. Now it is more of a resignation that things will always be the way they are between us.
There were a lot of hard feelings for me from my oldest son during the teenage years and into his early 20’s. In his late 30’s, things are very different now between us and also with younger son. We all get along now and the cycle seems to have been broken with the hate and conflict. They call me mum, and when they are feeling particularly affectionate, they call me old hen.
Tao Talk 
Interesting process of maturing into seeing our parents and children as individual humans. When my daughter was in her early teens and my mother in her late seventies I often thought I’d enjoy them more if we weren’t closely related. When my son was in his early twenties he refused to speak to me or his father for over a year. Now we get along well.
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100% agree with you that if i was a stranger on the street I’d be delighted with my mom. she always treats strangers the best. lol. my son also gave me the silent treatment for a good year or two. I’m glad you can relate ❤
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At the time, his silence was devastating. A good reminder that things work out.
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Fascinating how our family history & feelings affect future choices. It makes me wonder what might trickle to the 3rd or 4th generation down the line.
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It’s interesting what we end up passing down to our kids from our parents, and what things we do INSTEAD of what our parents did. Sometimes the cycles are broken intentionally, sometimes just on their own.
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well-said.
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