At first glance, my mom doesn't seem like the most intimidating person. But trust me, I lived under her roof for about 20 years, and she can definitely turn up the intimidation factor. My high school friends will back me up on this.
Despite the numerous disagreements (and outright fights, which made up about a three-year time span of our relationship) my mom and I have had over the years, she is by far my best friend. I don't think I know anyone who has as close of a bond or relationship with their mother as I do with mine. I'm not trying to brag, I'm just telling the truth. When I say I can talk to my mom about anything, I mean exactly that. Think about the most intimate, personal conversation you would have with another person, probably your closest friend. Those are the kind of things I tell my mom. She never judges me on anything I tell her, and she is always supportive of my decisions. Eventually.
I'm telling you all this so you can understand the bond my mom and I share and just how close we really are. About a week ago, I made the 350+ mile drive to my parents' house for my hometown's county fair. My parents own a feed and seed store in a neighboring town, so I stopped on my way through. During our conversation, my mom told me that they had recently fired an employee (for anonymity's sake, I'll call him Derek). When she told me why, I think my jaw nearly hit the floor.
Apparently Derek had trouble filling out his time card correctly (or at all) despite being walked through it numerous times by both my mom and my dad. When my mom confronted him face-to-face about it, he became very belligerent and disrespectful toward her, both as an employee to his employer, and as a 20-year-old kid to an adult. When she told him he should just go home and not bother coming back again, Derek took things to a new level of disrespect.
He called my mother what I believe to be the worst, most disrespectful term in the English language: a c***. As he was leaving, my mom demanded, "What did you just say?"
The little prick actually repeated it!
"You're a f***ing c***."
I don't know how most people were raised, but in my household you did NOT say things like that, especially to an authority figure, and my parents have never had a tolerance for disrespect.
My mom walked right over to Derek and, in front of employees and customers, slapped him across the face (at this point in my mom's story, I threw my arms in the air and yelled "Go, Mom!"). Derek apparently raised his hand as if to hit my mom back when my dad came over and effectively ended the little exchange. Needless to say, Derek is no longer employed at my parents' store, and never will be again.
My dad later said that he had never seen my mom slap anyone before. Well...I have. When I was 13, my mom and I were having our annual large-scale fight when, for the first time, I refused to back down. I kept arguing and back-talking my mom to the point where she slapped me across the face. Despite the fact that I completely deserved it (neither of us remember what I said, but we both know it was very disrespectful. I did NOT call her a name, though), my mom continues to feel guilty about slapping me to this day, and apologizes every time I bring it up. I have a feeling, however, that this latest slap is not one she will ever feel the need to apologize for.
In short, you don't mess with my mom!
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