Evelyn Harper, Charlie and Alan’s conceited FOF mother in the hit TV sitcom Two and a Half Men, is a hoot. A successful real estate broker with no soul, she makes no bones about how disappointed she is in her two sons. Alan is a twice-divorced, nerdy chiropractor, and Charlie is a single, philandering, alcoholic, commercial jingle writer.
Evelyn doesn’t come to praise her sons; she comes to criticize. And when she turns her back, Alan and Charlie throw thorns—not roses—her way.
All this may be funny on a sitcom—and it’s a darn good sitcom—but it’s not so funny when moms and their kids criticize and complain about each other in real life. I am far from a perfect mother—or person, for that matter—but it makes me unhappy when my kids are unnecessarily sarcastic to me or attribute less-than-good-intentions to my actions when it comes to them. On the other hand, I know I sometimes make them unhappy when I try to impose my values on them.
Being a mother is the hardest thing I’ve done in my entire life. Harder than studying for the SAT, finding a job, or being a boss; harder than losing weight, exercising or having dental work; and harder than finding a husband, a good doctor or a pair of pants that fit.
Granted, being a kid isn’t always a picnic, either.
No one gives exceptional lessons in motherhood, not even the thousands of mommy bloggers flooding the Internet. Each of us learns as we go. We can only hope that our kids know we tried our best, and we know they did the same.
0 Responses to “Motherly advice”
pinchas says:
mothers like evelyn exist in real life. and they need to be locked up.
0 Responses to “Motherly advice”
pinchas says:
mothers like evelyn exist in real life. and they need to be locked up.