What does your mom have to do...with you?

My Mother was the baby of eight children and was raised as fast as my grandparents could raise her. She had been married several times before I was born and had never found a husband. One night she was telling me how unhappy she was with the boyfriend in her life. So I told her “What you should do is buy a color television“. So she asked me why? I told her that if we had a color television. We could watch it together and she wouldn’t have to go out to see anyone else. At the time I was six and my parents had just divorced, my mom was working nights and we stayed with my grandparents during the day. Curtis Mathis Televisions were advertised like cell phone companies advertise new calling plans today that keep you in touch with your family. So I figured that if we had a Color TV then she could be happy at home instead of crying about how unhappy she was in life.

Later on my mother emancipated herself and married again to a man that would sit in front of a TV for the rest of his life. She was still not happy. Many times before I married or even dated anyone she and I would talk about how angry she was about how the man she married could not fill the role of her husband. In most all of these discussions I would tell her “What you should do is kick him out” She would sometimes ask me how could she or she would tell me that she couldn’t do that. My feelings at that time were that my mom was the smartest person in the world, she had the answer for all of my questions. She told me if someone is being mean to me get away from him or her and if they would not leave me alone to tell an adult and if I have to, “hit them hard make them cry and run away“. So I could not understand why she would not follow her own advice.