I'm turning into my mother...

OK...I know that I have praised my mother to the skies (see previous entry from August or September). However, that doesn't necessarily mean I want to BE her. Far from it.

When I was a teen and in my 20's, I swore to myself that I would NEVER be like my mother. I would be judging people equally, never making comments about what they wore, or their makeup or hairstyle, or anything because that's not the measure of a person, RIGHT? (please agree...) A person's worth is deeper than that. They should be judged by the content of their CHARACTER!

Well, try as I might to do that, I still find myself noticing - of all the stereotypical things - clothes. Yes, I am just as scared as you all, faithful readers. I mean, I try to overcome it, but I still hear myself muttering phrases that my mother would use such as:

"I wish I could round up all these girls that THINK they know how to wear high heels and teach them to WALK! Such terrible posture, and they clump around in those damned things like army boots! They don't even pick their feet up off the ground! What are their mothers thinking?"

"Is that woman even WEARING a slip?" (I admit, I hate wearing slips so I try to go easy on folks for that transgression.)

"I think that man was a refrigerator repairman in a past life...has he never heard of a belt?"

However, noticing outfits, hairstyles, etc. has also won me some points, and I've heard some interesting stories about how a person acquired an interesting piece of jewelry, or a shopping trip to NYC, or other things.

For example, I was at a CFC fair (stands for Combined Federal Campaign...for fed employees to make contributions to their favorite charity) today, and I found that if I talked to people about their jewelry or a clothing item, it really opened them up.

One woman showed us pictures of her singing with Barry Manilow at a concert in Philadelphia, and another woman stopped at our booth to let us tell her about MENC because I complimented her on her pin. Another woman told me about the story behind her beautiful cross necklace (it was her brother's necklace, and she wears it every day to remember him.) My co-worker, Anne, commented that she was impressed with my "eye for detail". I've never been complimented on it before...if anything, it embarrases me, because I try so hard NOT to be materialistic and focusing on clothes, jewelry, hair, shoes, or accessories. However, I can't help it. And really, some days I don't want to.

After all, I met my man 20 years ago because he caught my eye...he had on a 3 piece suit at a choral festival for high school kids, but during the day we were all dressed in street clothes so he stood out. My, he stood out. I didn't realize until almost 20 years later HOW MUCH he stood out, but there ya go.

Gee...thanks, Mom. Never thought I would thank you for this, but I talked myself into it.

Your favorite material girl,
Sudiegirl