I know my mother means well.

[fox]

But damn, she can be discouraging.

In the world of floating-possible-ideas-for-what-to-do-if-grad-school-is-a-no-go, when I said "Or I might just chuck it all and move to New York and try to make a go of it as an actor," she didn't believe I really meant it. And the reason she didn't believe I really meant it was that she knows how much I hate waiting tables, and she knows how unlikely it is that any given out-of-work actor will suddenly be able to support herself as an actor, and she would have assumed I'd choose something more stable that involved at least health insurance, and she just doesn't want to see me go through what my father's best friend went through for ten years before giving up and getting a job in PR, and -- my god, the woman is the voice of doom!

And it's just a mark of how much I am her child that this conversation set me back as far as it did. Other naysayers, I can brush [edit -- shrug] off. Not Mom. Goddammit.

Comments

[telesilla.livejournal.com]

Moms are so like that. And ya knw, I found myself being the Voice of Doom when my step-daughter wanted to start riding lessons. A friend of mine had gone through hell in Jr, High because all the girls at her stable were really rich and had their own horses and were extrmely cruel to my middle class friend who just loved horse. Fortunately I never said anything about this to my step daughter, because it's been 4 years (at least) now and she loves the stables, the people are cool, and her even has her own horse (it wa such a deal).

It's hard because you don't want to see them hurt or unhappy, and you want them to learn from the things you know. They can't of course; what was a mistake for the parent (or someone the parent knew) isn't always a mistake to for the kid.

Having said all that, your Mom should know by now that you'll do what you want and she might as well provide support. A hard lesson for parents to learn, but a valuable one.

Hang in there!