It was a snowy December day when I got my mom to sit down in the kitchen with me and talk about some of are favorite activities. At first it was awkward as we both prepared to talk to each other about the questions. Every question I asked left the room silent. My mom tossed and turned for a realistic answer maybe my question where to tuft for her to answer. but as we went trough out the interview things got easier she started asking me questions leading to a more diverse perspective on both are opinions. None of the questions poked to be too personal luckily. me and my mom talked about are shared love of biking instead, and small challenges we both have gone through to bike. We also talk on are love of stories especially fiction works. Over all, this was really fun getting to hear my mom’s story’s again and maybe getting a couple new ones to remember.
Me: what are your dreams uhm from your childhood like what where were your dreams from your childhood.
Mom: Yeah so I also had a dream of going to Europe and exploring uhm other countries, And so in my late 20s I took 5 weeks off of work and I went and toured around Europe. uhm and that was a dream come true I got to go to a lot of different countries do a lot of hiking. Yeah I think uhm another example would be I did this big bike ride in my 20s that was like 550 miles over 4 days over a big mountain pass and there was a lot of training and everything that went with that , and I didn’t know if I could do it and I did it and I think that’s something that was that made me realize that you can have a dream but you got to work hard you have to be committed you might have to sacrifice some things like. So same with the Europe trip I had to save up all this money I had to pick and choose what I was going to go see uhm I had to take a little bit of a leave of absence from work to do it so yeah I have had some dreams come true which is amazing but I also had to work very hard to make them happen
Me: What was like the challenging thing about the bike ride like what was the most challenging bit of that
Mom: Oh Well I think all of for me the challenge was the training part uhm in Colorado in the spring we started training in the spring it’s very windy and I do not like riding my bike to a headwind.
Me: Me to it sucks
Mom: And so it was like there are some days you’re riding. you’d kinda do a three day weekend so you would ride maybe 20 miles after work on Friday 30 on Saturday and the 50 or 60 on Sunday, and there where some days I felt I didn’t matter which way we turned the wind was blowing on are face we where just fighting the wind the whole time. so it was hard to comet to that long bike ride and all those months of training. then on the five day uh tour actually bike ride uhm I had never done it before so I over packed and I was camping so when I’d get done at the end of the day I’d have to carry this huge backpack that I could barely lift at the end of the day so I learned a lot if I ever would do that ride again. I would never pack that much stuff but I think the hardest part of the actual bike ride there was a section of about 70 mile that was just flat land and just nothing just very open and I really struggled I didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere or when you riding through the mountains there’s a lot of different stuff to see.
Me: Yeah you’re always changing scenery and you feel like you’re going places.
Mom: But this was just flat land for 70 miles nothing no houses nothing nothing interesting to see. so it was that was I almost didn’t make it trough that day.
Me : What where the challenges with the European trip for you
Mom: I think for me being a female and traveling alone was whether or not I would go out at night after dark. was it safe? was it not safe. uhm I think that a lot of I could see a lot of men traveling young men and they don’t have that kinda worry. you can go out after dark and not be worried about anything. so I think uhm the challenge was considering my safety, and if something would happen. uhm at that time we didn’t have cell phone like we do now they where just barely starting so like how anyone get a hold of my family to let them know if there was trouble or something like that. So that that was a challenge but I think uhm the logistics of traveling in a foreign country when you don’t know the language and I did all public transportation as you know that’s what I do a lot of times when I travel it can make it interesting. I I accidentally got on the train from Paris to um Bruge is in Brussels um and I got going in the wrong direction at one point and I didn’t realize until like almost and hour into it. So I got to be really late.
Me: That sounds scary
Mom: Yeah by the time I got off the train got back on the train in the other direction and got to Brugge it was pretty late at night by the time I got in and so that was challenging just making sure that I knew where I was going and I do know the language and everything but ultimately I had a lot of fun.
Me: Uh how would you describe yourself when you were like a child or like when you were younger
Mom :Yeah id read a lot of books uhm id ride my bike for hours out and kinda make imaginary you know stories about stuff and yeh just kinda
Me :What’s your favorite life lesson
Mom:I think that I think what I just said is my primary life lesson
Mom: just be flexible that part of the rote might be closed you might have to take a different path to get there
Me:It’s like me putting of my century this year I could do the 100. Lies so I had to go and be like I’m doing that next year because I couldn’t do that before winter
Mom: Yeah you have to build up to that kinda of stuff but yeah your path sometimes doesn’t always go straight in the way you think it’s going to go so you just be flexible and keep working towards that dream and you know along you can say you know I did actually achieve that dream it may look different from what you initially imagined but
Me: Uh what was your favorite childhood memory?
Mom: Do you have a favorite childhood memory?
Me: Do I I’d say uhm probably one of the trips I went on a bike ride or something to do with music that went really well I think im still making them I’d say specifically last year some of my favorite childhood memories are going to the football games I think homecoming and sweet hearts where some of my favorites going to those with my group of friends that was really fun especially sweet hearts when I went with Holden grace and Lucy it was a fun group to go with so it’s a little sad looking back on it now but it was really fun in the moment I really enjoyed it and I had so much fun that night like just hanging out with them and being myself and being really stupid and goofing of
Mom: Ok that reminded me of my what I could say for mine
Me: I know what your saying.
(laughter)
Mom: My first middle school dance my dad took me to it was probably like 1983 or something like that so the 80s and um he’s an old hippie and he always has junker cars so it had no tread on the tires dropped me of at the front of the school and we where all standing outside waiting to go in like you guys do and he pulls out of the parking lot and flaps himself out his window pumping his arm and he yells bogie boogie woogie and peals out of the parking lot.
Me: Yeah
Mom: I was dying I was so embarrassed and so I remember these girls I was standing next they like who’s dad is that and I was like I don’t know yeah I denied he was my father. I was so embarrassed
Me: I’m going to ask about the outsiders book because I know you really liked that book when you were a child
Mom: Oh god yeah
Me :And just like what was your first time reading that how did you feel.
Mom: Ok so i don’t think that was assigned reading which is interesting because now you guys have it as assigned reading but I was in seventh grade and I picked it up from the library probably on some one’s recommendation or something and at the time I was living with my dad and his wife and they worked evening shift as a cook and a waitress so I spent a lot of evenings reading books because we didn’t have tv believe it or not at the time so uhm I loved that book. I just loved everything about it I don’t know why I loved it so much I mean I think at the time too grease had come out and they had you know the different fighting gangs.
Me : Gangs and stuff yeah
Mom: Fighting against each other and so this was kinda similar there where the greasers and the jocks or whatever uhm and you see that in school two how we have the different kinda sects of the kids that hang out but anyway uhm I guess growing up like I did I could relate to those kids kinda living in poverty and running a muck or whatever but at the very end of the book I don’t want to give it away just in case it’s a sad ending it’s a terrible sad and tragic ending and I was crying when I finished that book crying like ugly crying like snot running down my nose I was bawling crying and my dad got home from work and he came in my bedroom and saw me crying he’s like what’s going on he was like searching the house for intruders like he was gonna beat em up or something and then I was like it’s this book and he goes oh Sara he was so irritated with with me and I couldn’t help it I was just so
Me: It’s just how grandpa is.
Mom: Yeah oh Sara he was looking for like a burglar or you know
Me: Something going on
Mom: Yeah chasing around and realizing it was a book I read that made me so sad. But thats not the only book I’ve cried like that.
Me: But I don’t read a lot of books you read a lot of books so what is your favorite book that you have read.
Mom: Oh my gosh that is a hard one to answer but I’ll tell you there’s this series I wish I could read over again like for the first time. And experience that and it’s called uhm the mist born series and it’s kinda a sci-fi fantasy book about this altered kingdom or whatever alternate universe and it’s so interesting because it has to do with different types of metal. And how these people use metal to do magic and uhm and move themselves through space and stuff and so it’s a girl thats the main character and she’s an orphan and all this stuff and she doesn’t realize she has powers.
Me: Powers
Mom: Yeah and so she starts to learn how that she has power and eventually there going to infiltrate they uh ruling kingdoms you know whatever party and that is so good there’s three books the third books really dark like I’m almost like I don’t know just a lot of battle and war and stuff like that. But that series was so interesting in how they used copper or nickel or different types of alloys to yeah.
Me: It dose kinda sound a little interesting I’m watching a tv show thats not necessarily like that but but they kinda use a bunch of garbage and they turn the garbage into like weapons and stuff which is really cool like magical powers they infuse there powers into them
Mom: She could throw a piece of copper and she could either push against it and it would Kate her fly or she could throw it and pull towards it and it would make her you know go towards the metal and so she could get away from people that way or she could jump up on to buildings. Yeah so interesting.
Me: Magic system like that are very interesting to me especially I like a lot of magic systems in tv and anime that I watch a lot and I just like seeing how they unfold especially if there done well I don’t like when uhm the magic system doesn’t logically make sense I guess
Mom: Yeah that it’s to fluffy or whatever
Me: Yeah it’s to fluffy
Mom:It’s not smart enough
Me: Yeah it’s not smart enough it doesn’t necessarily it doesn’t explain its self how stuff actually works
Mom: I have tried to go back and reread books that I love and it’s just not the same because you kinda remember it part of it so I’ve thought there is one other book that I’ve reread that I’ve liked just as much the first it was called Ahab’s wife and it’s kinda a story on uhm Moby dick do you know that one
Me: Yeah
Mom: It’s about a whale and a guy who’s a ship captain
Me: He got eaten by the whale right
Mom: But this is kinda a play on that. And that one is really good both times I read it. But other then that I’ve tried too pick up books and reread them and there just not the same you kinda already know the story in your heart right
Me: Yeah
