Whatever Mom! I’m doing the opposite!

The Mother's Day story I published in Linked In. I wanted to add it to Tomato Herring. 17. Pink, but couldn't quite fit it in. Also, meet Captain Erika.

Moms: What did they say that guides us forever? What did we inherit from them that presumably helped us get where we are today? What can I thank my mother for? Could any of our mothers’ words resonate with our audiences?

Ilise Benun recently asked us these questions, during the Simplest Marketing Plan's Office Hours

My mother, Muriel S. Zeitz San was born in 1929. She died in 2012. Age 83.

I thought, “No way. All my mom ever told me was ‘Sit up straight! Stop slouching!’ and ‘You’d be so pretty if…’ and, ‘You’ll break it if you keep doing that. Do it my way…’”

The words that hurt and pointed to my flaws were what I remembered first. It was easy to do.

Humans tend to remember painful things more easily than what lifts us up. Those painful lessons are supposed to help us stay alive. Help us flee or fight.

Didn’t women always fight with their mothers? Much of who I am is in reaction to my mom.

I responded internally by defiantly being myself. As a preteen, I had my personal reasons for slouching.

I knew I would never equal my mom in beauty, so why even try to be pretty?

And I was clumsy. So what?

I shared my dilemma with colleagues Steve Horn and Lisa Mishima. They suggested that not wanting to be like my mother was just as valid even if the life lessons were negative.

When I heard, "Don't," I thought it meant, "I can and I will."

Introducing Captain Erika!

When we were little, my younger brother Paul and I shared a room. After lights out, we pretended to be superheroes in outer space. I was Captain Erika and my brother was named Bruce (it was because he liked the way our cousin Bruce looked).

I told my mom I was Captain Erika and I fought bad guys. And she told me that girls could not be captains!

It was the early '60s. I was almost 5.

I told her, "Then I'm a boy from a planet where boys have girls' names. And girls have boys' names."

I'd be a boy so I could be a "captain," but in case Mom worried, I'd still have my real name.

I liked being Captain Erika.

In response to my mom, I began to develop problem-solving skills. No way was I going to stop playing superhero-in-space Captain Erika!

Mom loved to play, to make me and my brother laugh. Growing up, I felt making my mother laugh was my highest calling!

My mom was creative, musical, brainy. She had an immense vocabulary and was an avid reader. She loved wordplay.

I got that from her.

I don't know if this resonates with you. Sometimes I'm too jokey, and too wordy for a serious topic. But mostly I look at challenges as opportunities. Opportunities to play with ideas.

And some of those ideas land just outside the box!

Thanks, Mom!