Oh My Blog is a monthly interview series, where fellow bloggers come together to answer a series of questions on a specific theme. This is a chance to get acquainted with a whole range of bloggers, some of whom you may not have heard of before, and learn a little more about them!
This month, the theme is Mums (because it’s Mother’s Day soon!) and we’re hosting Gareth from That Marketing Punk.
Introduce us to your mum. What’s her name? What does she do? Reveal her age if you dare!
My mother’s name is Jacqui, currently a driver for special needs children. However, she spent most of her life jumping between Reflexology and Technical Writing (writing the manuals for technical software). At present, she is 63 years old.
What’s the one thing your mum always used to say to you?
I would have loved to put something enlightening and profound here, but in truth, the most common thing my mum said to me was “stop playing that video game and come downstairs”. She had bought my a Sega MegaDrive when I was about 5, and since then I had adored video games… So when it came time to eat dinner, there would usually be the following exchange.
Mum: Stop playing that video game and come downstairs
Me: I need to find a save point!
Mum: You’ve got 5 minutes!
Me (to the game): Come on, come on. Where can I save?
Someone’s playing your mum in a film. Who is it and why?
This one is actually really quite difficult… I would probably say either Sigourney Weaver or Meryl Streep… Mostly because they can both probably incredibly strong women (my mother was a single mother for almost all of my life) whilst also showing compassion and understanding.
She’s won the lottery. What’s the first thing your mum buys for herself?
Now that’s easy! The first thing she’d get for herself is a large and luxurious villa in Spain. Nothing to outlandish, I know, but I am 100% that’s what she’d buy. She’s wanted to live there all my life.
What embarrassing story about you does she always tell when you meet new people?
Oh god, there’s so many… It’s quite hard to pinpoint one that she says the most… Probably the time I managed to break the garage door, snapping it from the rails so badly that it lay horizontal, half way to the floor, and swung back and forth… Thing is, neither of us remember how I did it…
What are your plans for Mother’s Day this year?
My mum will be in France with her boyfriend, whose band has a gig over there (I’m not sure which town/city). So, I’ll be putting my attention on my wife (mother of my child) instead. Got a nice gift coming, and will be cooking a lasagne, as it is her favourite food.
What’s her favourite TV show at the moment?
My mum doesn’t actually watch much TV… I know her all time favourite show is Casualty, which would always drive me to go upstairs to my MegaDrive/PlayStation/whatever else I had at the time because I found it so dull, haha. She likes The Walking Dead, but only started watching it because I kept recommending it… So, I would say we should probably go with Casualty.
What’s the biggest or most important thing that your mum inspired you to do?
Oh wow… Well, I wouldn’t be in the career I am in now without her inspiring me to just be myself and do something I enjoy, but also to not stop learning… So, really, I would say pretty much my entire life at the moment is the most important thing she inspired me to do.
Your round at the bar! What’s your mum drinking?
Tia Maria! Or any type of red wine (but probably house red). My mum doesn’t really drink much of a variety, so it would definitely be one of those two.
What’s the biggest different between you and your mum?
Oh, we are miles apart in personality. I don’t even know where to begin. My mum is a very carefree person, whereas I can be very pedantic (like making sure a graphic is pixel perfect). She likes to always see the good in every situation, whereas I tend to find the negatives and try to find ways to fix them… We are complete opposites, which is really funny since she was the only one who raised me.
Most important question of the lot. What is your mum’s stance on 50 Shades of Grey? Does she love it? Hate it? Not even know what it is?
Well, despite just saying we are complete opposites, this is one thing we see eye to eye on (as in Twilight). Neither of us can stand 50 Shades of Grey… I know that’s going to annoy some people, but it’s just not our cup of tea. My mum likes dark (and sometimes really messed up) crime novels, whereas I like fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk and cyberpunk. So it doesn’t fit our taste to begin with… And then there’s the fact that my mum is very… conservative when it comes to her ideas of what should be in a book or movie (with the exception of murder and violence, strangely).
What’s your favourite memory of your mum?
Probably when we first went to Disneyland Paris when I was about 8, I think. But not for the reasons most people would expect. It was a pretty horrid day, raining really heavily. But, I saw Mickey Mouse and ran over to him, and asked him for a hug. He must have been really unhappy to be walking around in that suit in the rain, because rather than hugging me, he put his middle finger up and told me to “go away” in much less polite words. At the time, it was horrible. But nowadays I look back at it and laugh. How many other people in the world can say they were flipped the bird by Mickey Mouse?
What do you think your mum was like as a kid?
From what she’s told me, she was a brat. Her and her 3 brothers would argue and fight all the time, and she wasn’t very good at following the rules… Actually, that’s something we have in common.
Cast your mind back a bit; what was the thing you did as a child or teenager that made your mum the angriest she has ever been with you?
Probably sneaking out at night to meet my friends and go skateboarding… I’m not sure she knows about the skateboarding part, but the sneaking out at night stuff always got her really angry.
Finally, what’s the BEST piece of advice your mum ever gave to you?
“Be yourself, not what everyone wants you to be.” It’s probably the most important thing to remember in life. If you try to be someone else, you’ll get found out eventually. Just be who you are, because you’re awesome!
If you enjoyed this guest post, you can check out even more from Gareth over at his blog and social media!
Blog: http://www.thatmarketingpunk.co.uk
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Your mum sounds lovely 🙂 So many great memories x
I loved this! I can SO relate to the video game one with my boys now. They are forever late for dinner because they are trying to find a save point! haha. Thanks for sharing 🙂