Here’s the recent email I received from my mother after I asked for her feedback on this blog:
Blog is really funny. (I’m charging for references to and advice from your mother!) Always nice to have an avocation but I still think you should be looking for a “real” job. LOL Mom
There are a couple of things I should explain here…the first of which is that despite repeated reminders, my mom still thinks LOL means Lots-of-Love (Mom, really – it means Laughing-out-Loud).
The second is that I should tell you my mother was an English major in college and is therefore special in that not all moms routinely use words like “avocation” in their emails.
Given that, you now might be saying to yourself, “well, MY mother wasn’t an English major, so what does avocation even mean?!” Webster’s Dictionary defines it as an activity engaged in for enjoyment, in addition to one’s regular work or profession i.e. a hobby.
There ya have it, Folks. My mom’s roundabout way of saying: Gee, Hon…the blog is fun for a lark, but don’t quit your day job!
And while they TOOK my day job (I didn’t give it up willingly i.e. quit), you get the idea; don’t quit LOOKING for your day job.
Ack! This loving advice (for some strange reason) reminds me of a(nother?) cringe-worthy experience I had with my mom during an ill-fated clothes shopping trip to Fashion Bug in the early 80’s during which she commented that she didn’t think they made parachute pants in “big girl” sizes. Ack! See what I mean?! YOU’RE totally cringing now too!!
I’ve just been firmly put in my place. BY MY OWN MOTHER!!!
But maybe I’m reading too much into it? Maybe my reaction here is based on my own feelings of inadequacy as a stay at home mom (as a blogger? as a “sturdy” pre-pubescent??) and not really how the message was intended. In which case, two final possibilities present themselves: 1) with her comment about “charging” for references, perhaps she’s looking for her OWN day job? Or…….2)maybe she really was just laughing out loud.
Hi, Mom!
You better hope Mom does not figure out what WTF! stands for…
LOL Amy