Mom’s Famous Words

This is a story about my mother. She was a great mother by all means. I loved her so very much and I know that she loved me just as much or more. Now before I get into my actual story, I need too tell you about my mom and give you some of her history in order for you to really understand what my story is all about. Well my mother grew up the oldest out of 8 children. Unfortunately, her father left just after her youngest sibling was born. Leaving her mother a single parent with 8 children too look after. At the beginning, her mother had a hard time keeping her job as she missed work constantly due to having to be home too look after the kids. When my mother saw how much she was struggling, she decided too drop out of school at the age of 12. She wanted to ensure that her mother was able to work in order to be able to provide for the family financially. So there was my mother, just barely out of Middle School raising her 7 younger siblings everyday. This greatly hindered my mother’s knowledge and understanding of the English language. Due to this, she always struggled with finding work that was suitable for her as most employees did not like the fact that she had a hard time sometimes with articulating her thoughts, ideas and such. She was also hindered as the area that we lived in while I was growing up, there was not much work that my mother qualified for due to her lack of education as the main industry was office work which required the ability to professionally and properly conduct business over the phone. She tried finding people to hire her to perform house keeping tasks but because she was Aboriginal and racism was still a thing most people would not hire her. It was a good thing that my father had a high school education and managed too get a good paying job working for the hydro company in our area at a very young age. He always told my mother that he would take care of her and our family financially and she need not worry. This did not stop her from trying too learn the knowledge she was lacking though. She decided too try going back too school when I was a toddler. They started her back in grade 7, they grade she had been trying too complete before dropping out too help her struggling mother. She tried very hard too learn and complete her middle school courses but struggled so much that one day she decided that she was just too old too try and learn this stuff anymore, so again she dropped out of middle school and did so too be a stay at home mother instead of trying to find a career and be a working woman like most mother were doing then. Anyway, that is a little about my mother and gives you some context for my real story.

Now that you have a little bit of history about my mother I can continue with the rest of my story. Like I said, my mother was an amazing caring woman, she would help anyone that needed help at the drop of a hat. All though she was kind, loving, supportive and all those other great things that great mothers are, she was not however very smart due to having quit school at such an early age. She never learned proper English and had a hard time putting some of her thoughts into words. This did not stop her from arguing a point with someone if she thought she was right. Most times she did not due too bad at articulating her argument And would put most people, especially my father in their place.

As I got older and started to hit puberty, my mother and I bumped heads a lot. I was very mature for my age and wanted more freedom then what my mom wanted to give to me. We would spend many a nights arguing about stupid stuff. Like, if I wanted too go out on a school night or if I had not completed my chores but had friends bugging me to go out on the weekend. There we would be yelling at each other, thinking the louder we yelled the more we could get our points across to each other. Now as the years continued like this and I became older, I realized that I had the knowledge of the English language that my mother did not have as I had already completed 3 or so years more of school then she had. I also was an avid reader and had an amazing ability at articulating my arguments in such a way that most people could not out argue me. When I realized this I decided to start trying instead of arguing with my mother but instead questioning her in hopes that she would be unable to provide proper answers to address these questions.

Well, let me tell you that this was not a great idea and most definitely back fired on me. As instead of proving my point and stumping her with my questions, this was how she came up with her “Famous Words”. Can you guess what those words were?

If you guessed “.... because I said so.” then you are 100% correct. I do not know how many times since those days almost 20 years ago, I have heard my mom yelling her famous words too everyone and anyone since who has tried to question her about anything. She used these words so often that her pet parrot that my brother and myself got her would also mimic these words over and over. It was quite funny listening to my mom yell “....because I said so.” then next thing you know the parrot would be squeaking away “because I said so.... because I said so.” Over and over again.

Thinking back on these memories of my mom and her parrot and her “Famous Words” brings a smile and a laugh to my brother and myself whenever the memory is brought up. Unfortunetly, my mother passed away almost a year ago too this day but I was the lucky one who was given her parrot, Petey. So whenever Petey hears anyone ask a question in my household, especially my daughter he is quick too start squeaking “....because I said so.... because I said so”. You would think that by now I would be annoyed but I am not as I am thankful that my daughter gets to hear my Mom’s Famous Words as a way too always remember her grandmother by.