This day has become a special one for me. Despite all the chaos I had endured, I finished creating my midterms for my eighth graders, measuring the English Room, editing my students’ research paper projects, and decorating the board for the school’s Reading Month. Most of all, I finished typing out the first installment of my LGBTQ+ Crimeverse, and my chest is swollen with pride now!
“When I was with my mother, I sometimes thought of myself of a trophy—something to be flaunted before friends. When out of public view, I sat on the shelf ignored and forgotten.”
― The Flock: The Autobiography of a Multiple Personality
The duality of narcissistic mothers
This post will talk about two short stories that actually take place right after each other. It was a decision I made only after I got done writing the first one. See, I wrote My Perfect Son after listening to the nonsense of a, particularly toxic parenting style. You know what I’m talking about. The type of parenting where a child is forced to do activities that the parents want so they can brag about it to other people. Worse yet, if the child fights back, they are disciplined for “not respecting them”. So, I wanted to explore that.
“Like my grandmother always said, “Your opinions are valid and important. Unless it’s some stupid bullshit you’re being shitty about, in which case you can just go fuck yourself.”
― Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things
The duality of the grandmother’s role
Now, I’ve already done a story where I used my grandma for inspiration. The first story was The Family That Preys (click here to see) and my grandma loved it. She thought it was a nice story about the lengths grandmothers will go to maintain harmony in the family. However, she thought it was a bit over the top and I had to remind her that my writing is always dialed up to an eleven. Now! That particular conversation gave me a spark of inspiration and the motivation to write another “grandma” story: Child of Lovebirds.