dannydmc

I have a confession to make, and I really hate to say this but I think I have to: I'm an arrogant jack-ass.

Now, before you jump to my defence and say that I'm being hard on my self, let me explain a bit; My Mum and I get along well. I almost hate to say this, because when ever a young man admits that he and his Mother carry on well, people always seem to assume he's a Mama's Boy for some reason. I'm don't consider myself to be one although, I suppose, I could always be wrong.
Anyway, although the two of us are close, I have for some time believed that I was 'wiser' than her. I think I first started to think this around HIgh School, partially because she began to rely on me for advice from time to time. Although I don't believe I was ever haughty with her, I came to believe that I had all of the answers and, in all honesty, there wasn't anything that she undersood or knew better than I did. If she was having problems at work; well, I certainly knew exactly what she should do. If her sisters were annoying her, I knew why. I somehow understood her entire family and its lore better than she did; even though, of course, she had grown up and lived with them all.

As I said; I was an ass.

Anyway, she called me last night after getting done with work, and we were talking. Being up in Alaska, I like to keep tabs on whats going on back in Wisconsin, of course, but I also want people to know how I'm doing as well. More than that, however, I've been having a very rough time the past few weeks; I'm getting over a cold, had the flu this past weekend, got rejected from two colleges I wanted to go to for grad school, and generally am not happy with my job or where I live. Pretty much, I've just been feeling depressed, apathetic towards everything, and horribly lonely.
So, we get on this topic and, for what ever reason, I just tell her everything that has been going through my mind, and just hos futile everything seems these days; I'm not even sure why I admitted as much as I did, I'm usually very reserved when it comes to anything 'deep' and am horrible at discussing it. I wasn't even particularly moppy while discussing it, in fact I was even laughing a bit from time to time, but I just told her everything I thought.
I don't remember exactly what she said, except for one thing "Dan; stop trying to fix people all the time. Did it ever occur to you that, maybe, people are happy the way they are?"
I had been right in the middle of saying something, and my jaw just snapped shut and I stood there for a second, speechless. I suddenly struck me that she was right; most of my frustrations stemming from my job is that so many people (especially the younger variety) always seem to resistent to everything that I am trying to do for them. This was followed by a second thought; I've been an asshole to this woman for the past umpteen years. Here I was, thinking I was so wise and all-knowing, and she just shut me up in two seconds and saw something that I had never even thought of before.

So, yes; I'm an arrogant ass.

The odd thing is, is that after getting off the phone with her I just felt so much......better; more at peace than I have in weeks, in not longer. I have no clue at all how she did it, or even WHAT she did; but dammit, I am never going to look down my nose at her in the least again. Mothers ROCK

...


Or, at least, have strange "Mother Powers" which we will never be able to fully understand or comprehend. Therefore we should treat them with reverence, lest they turn them against us!