I read this book. I read a lot of books. This one really got to me. Anyone heard of the repetitive syndrome in relationships? Apparently, however we were raised… good, bad, or indifferent, we want to recreate those beginnings with every relationship we have. Sometimes to snuggle back into fond childhood memories, but mostly, it is to make those bad and indifferent beginnings better. Get it?
How many times have you said, “I am never going to be like my mother… father…”? Isn’t it amazing how that voice creeps in when you least expect it? I wrote a series of vignettes about a woman named Harriet Ferment. Two disclaimers: First, I am the mother of three daughters. They didn’t make it to my show. I gave them the wrong time and date. And two, any resemblance between myself and Harriet is coincidentally, accidentally spot on. To give you a sense of where Harriet came from, let me share some of her mother’s bon mots.
When she took Harriet to camp, she inspected the bunk bathroom and exclaimed to Harriet and the counselor how to use the seat so she wouldn’t get diseased or pregnant.
Harriet, cleanliness, like Godliness is in the eye of the holder.
On preparing Harriet for marriage…
Harriet, no man will marry spoiled fruit.
On how much she loved her…
Harriet, a mother to a daughter is like a camel to his hump.
On the privilege of having a daughter…
Harriet, a mother’s blessing, like her curse is forever.
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