Saturday, July 9, 2011

Summer Camp Day 9

Summer Camp Day 9:  What is the most important lesson you learned from your own mother (or other primary caretaker)? What do you imagine the name of your Grandmother’s blog would be and what would she write about?

The most important lesson I learned from my mother is how to be creative.  Despite the fact I ended up in the sciences, I enjoy creating things, and I have a healthy respect for the creative process.

My mother taught me that creativity is messy.  I feel that if it is not messy, it is not creative.  I remember painting at our dining room table, and getting paint everywhere.  I remember painting off the edge of the paper on to the table.  My mother also tolerated my foray into acrylics as I got older, which were not so easy to clean up. 

The creative process is generally messy, not only physically, but mentally as well.  Sometimes it is good to just throw ideas out, no matter how crazy they seem.  If nothing else, you voice it as an option, even if it is not viable.

My grandmother is not like my mother, at all.  My husband seems to think that I am more like my grandmother in some ways.  My grandmother comes from the deep south, and is an upstanding member of the DAR.  (That is actually how I got in to the DAR.)  She has a lot of pride, and is very concerned with how others see her.  It is very difficult for her now that she is getting older, and having to be more dependent on others.  My grandmother and I do not get along very well.  We are very polite, but it does not seem to go beyond that.  I think we both have a hard time showing our weakness to each other.  Family is very important to her, and she was very excited when I had Little Guy.

I think the name of her blog would be "Family Ties."  She does think family is very important, and she likes to manipulate those connections sometimes.  I think she would hide a lot about herself, and only put out there what she thought would impress people.  Not very nice, I know, but that has been my experience with her.

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