Relationship with mom off to a new start

By Ashley Ritchie

At the age of 12, if someone ever told me that one day I would be counting down the days until my parents came to visit me, I would tell them they were crazy. I never thought that at one point, I would no longer be cool enough to shun the very existence of parental figures in my life and succumb to the fact that I really do like them.vThat day has come.

This weekend is Sophomore Parent Weekend and I have to admit that I am very excited. My mom is coming to visit me on Saturday and for one of the first times I feel like no matter what major party is going on, I would rather hang out with my mom.

What scares me about the eagerness burning inside of me is that I think it may mean that I am maturing. Frightening thought! I can finally recognize how cool my mother really is and not be embarrassed to admit it. When I think about it, I don't know why I did not notice this before. I mean, I am just like her, and what better person to hang out with than someone who is just like me?

My relationship with my mother, however, is much different than it was when I was younger. In junior high and high school, I thought my mom was cool because she bailed me out of trouble and was always on my side. All of my friends liked her because she was the "cool mom" that took us toilet papering in middle school and made us huge breakfasts in the morning with whatever food we wanted.

Now that I am in college and on my own, it is much different. When I first moved away, conversations with Mom got a little shaky. She did not know my friends anymore and could not bail me out of trouble. I felt like I had nothing left to talk to her about because she was not there everyday to live my life with me. This year I began to realize how much I had taken her for granted. The fact that I got mad at her when she asked me about happenings at school and I didn't care to share any of my new life with her proved that in high school, our relationship was based on her constant giving.

The tables have turned and it is now my chance to give. The relationship between my mother and I is now dependent on whether or not I choose to share my life with her. For a while, I did not. But, then I found that I had lost something � my best friend. I no longer had that one person who completely understood my side of every story but still gave it to me straight when I was in the wrong. I missed the person who used to stand next to me in the bathroom in the morning and sing and dance in front of the mirror when "My Girl" came on the radio. I missed being jealous of her when we put on our make-up together because she was so pretty. I missed it all.

So, I suppose all of the above reasons are why I am so excited to see my mom this weekend. I hope that we get the opportunity to get ready in front of the mirror together and I can spill my frustrations about every subject on my mind like I used to. I think I am going to take her to a store in Los Gatos where you can paint pottery, because that is something she would love to do. For once, I am going to accommodate her instead of the other way around. I hope that this time around, our relationship won't be so one-sided and I can spend more time hanging out with her rather than nurturing my "crazy college life."