Feb 24 2011
A Mother By Any Other Name is Still As Embarrassing
Abby is studying the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet in English class. Her teacher has decided it is essential for the students to get a complete understanding of the play by doing a variety of projects. The minute Abby heard of these elaborate projects, she started stressing.
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this. I don’t have any idea how to do that,” she bemoaned.
“Didn’t Josiah do it last year? He’ll tell you what to do,” I replied.
“Nah, we didn’t have to do anything. These graded projects are a new idea,” Josiah unhelpfully answered.
For several weeks, I listened to Abby’s lament.
Then, she got off the bus smiling. She had found a way out. Her teacher informed the class that if the student attended a theater production of Romeo and Juliet, the student would only have to do two of the three projects. Attending the play would count for one.
Conveniently for Abby, but inconveniently for me, Romeo and Juliet was being staged in Richmond (2 hours away). Abby went online and looked at ticket prices, tried to convince her girlfriends to go with her, and pleaded until I gave in.
Because of prior commitments, only one of her friends could attend with us. I suggested to Abby that she ask other students in her class besides her closest friends to see if they wanted to go. This was an appalling idea to her. Apparently, during freshman year of high school, there are set groups and you cannot mix them.
(I imagine by mixing them, something dreadful would happen like discovering that the fabric of high school society will not be damaged by being a part of multiple groups, but what does a mother know?)
Last Saturday, Abby, her friend, and I traveled down to Richmond to watch the play. Abby informed me that another group of students from her class would be there as well. We saw them in line as we entered the theater. I dared to say Hi to one boy who has been Abby’s friend for three and a half years. Abby raised her hand, which was stuck in her coat pocket, at him.
That was it. She didn’t acknowledge any of the others even though several of them, as well as the boy she kinda sorta waved at are nice. They were not with us. They were in a different group and I should keep my opinions to myself.
“Who is that guy? Who is that girl?” I asked.
“Why do you need to know? Why does it matter to you?” You can’t go and talk to them. You don’t know them. You just know ABOUT them.” Abby replied. “You are not my friend, you are my mother. You don’t need to go talk to people who I know that you have never met. Daddy would be better. He would just threaten to talk to them, but never do it. You would do it.”
Her friend then shared the observation that she slowly disappears when her mother starts talking to other students.
This made me laugh.
Throughout the evening, I just made comments and threatened to talk to them, in the hopes that for a night, I could approach Dale’s level of being embarrassing.
Admittedly, Dale being less embarrassing then me was hard to stomach.
We watched the play. As with all productions, some actors shine and others falter and one wins the loudest laughs and applause.
Romeo was aptly lovestruck. Juliet a bit too scattered and hurried. The Friar was played well. I hated Mercutio. Granted, Mercutio is full of nonsense and drunkenness. His lines are already over the top, so the actor does not need to carry it to the excess. The actor for Mercutio made so many rude gestures and crass jokes with props while he was saying his lines that he was excessively offensive. I was relieved to watch the scene when he was killed.
The theater had a man play the part of Juliet’s nurse and he carried it off with an absurd aplomb similar to Robin William’s performance when he disguised himself as an old lady nanny. The Nurse was hilarious. He knew how to get the laugh and he got plenty. He stole the show.
As we left, I managed NOT to tell one kid that I thought it “good show” for having worn a sport jacket. I also managed NOT to talk to the other mother who drove the other group of students. She had been forced to sit in a different row from them because of a lack of chairs.
Thankfully, Abby hadn’t insisted I sit in a different row. Although, I’m quite certain, she probably thinks, next time, it would be a good idea.