To Ginny

The only really hard adjustment about living in a foreign country is all the people you leave behind. For instance today I really miss my mom. I'd include a picture of my mom here but she hates pictures of herself.

I think the "I WANT MY MOM" phase that today has been started when I decided the best way not to forget the only necklace I was bringing to on my trip was to not take it off. As in sleep in it.

I have never slept in a necklace before. Why?

Because when I was a toddler my mom told me if I wore a necklace to sleep it would strangle me.

And my parents wonder why I think about death so much.

Anyway, a couple years ago my sister said she never took a certain necklace off. I was like "Oh my gosh it could choke you! You can't sleep in necklaces!"

Needless to say my sister looked at me like I was an idiot. She gives me this look a lot. In fact it would probably be more of an event if my sister was looking at me like I wasn't an idiot.

"Mom told me you can't sleep in necklaces or they strangle you in your sleep!" I insisted. My sister smirked.

"Madi, I probably told you that when you still wore huge, long toddler necklaces." My mom broke in. "The necklaces you and Sarah wear now are not going to choke you."


Shouldn't there be an expiration date on these Semi-lies they tell us so we don't believe them forever!



Like when I was old enough to say not wear necklaces like this:


And to start wearing necklaces like this:



My mom could have mentioned that simple silver chains probably wouldn't bring about my demise.

Yes, I realize if I thought about it I should have figured it out. But I was at the stage when I thought my mom knew all the details of the universe.


 Some other things I owe to my mom

1. I love a few John Denver songs because after he died my mom bought the whole collection and listened non-stop for about year until she realized she never really liked him. But now I think of his songs as the melodies of my child hood.

2. I can probably read because of her because she home-schooled me which made my learning disability not the issue it would have been had I not had one on one attention.

3.She bought me my first book on jewelry making when I was like 13 and I still love it.

4. She introduced me to Spooks. She probably regrets this.

5. She is usually the only person who can tell when I'm upset.

6. I can't watch Mamma Mia unless I am with her because it makes me cry if she is not right there with me.

7. She doesn't care that I return/exchange the gifts she gets me.

There you go, some of the details which make up our unorthodox  but wouldn't go right to dysfunctional relationship. 

Now I am going to sleep in my necklace. If I am found tomorrow, dead from being strangled by a silver chain that got tangled while I was sleeping let it be known that my mom said that wouldn't happen.