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k_sereinroomToday or tomorrow would be my mother’s birthday. She was born over 100 years ago. It was a home birth, attended by a doctor. Later, my grandmother said the date on the birth certificate was filled out wrong. My mother brought this up every year, and I could see it was one of those things that affect someone that others dismiss as not impactful.
Later that birth certificate was misplaced, which didn’t seem to be a big deal at the time. She had to leave school after the 8th grade, and went to work as a live-in maid in St. Louis. She would later refer to those families as “the rich people”.
She went to night school and got a certificate to work as an operating room technician until she married. Apparently none of that required a birth certificate.
She was white, but English was her second language. Her ancestors immigrated to Pennsylvania in the early 1800’s from Germany for religious freedom. They were separatists, not wanting to melt into the big American pot.
When there was trouble in Pennsylvania, a group splintered off and settled in Missouri. She learned English in the first grade, as did everyone else in the small community. She always had a strong accent and spoke German with her sisters until the end of their lives.
I learned to speak mostly from being around her. The times were that I would get in trouble in school for speaking incorrectly. I recall the H’s and the V’s were the most problematic. I wasn’t necessarily singled out; many of the kids in my school were bewildered by what the adults considered unacceptable about us.
I left home before the age of 18, and learned that the way I’d learned to speak was considered hillbilly by the rest of the country.
Anyway, at some point in her middle age it became imperative that she have a birth certificate, and it was a long hassle for her to acquire one. I recall her having a lot of anxiety about this. A lot. Dealing with the agencies she had to deal with.
Today I carried on. Most of my attention is going to the food box delivery from this morning. I feel confident I can meal plan without the help of AI, but I’m really tired. Which is OK because no one is demanding anything of me today.
Later that birth certificate was misplaced, which didn’t seem to be a big deal at the time. She had to leave school after the 8th grade, and went to work as a live-in maid in St. Louis. She would later refer to those families as “the rich people”.
She went to night school and got a certificate to work as an operating room technician until she married. Apparently none of that required a birth certificate.
She was white, but English was her second language. Her ancestors immigrated to Pennsylvania in the early 1800’s from Germany for religious freedom. They were separatists, not wanting to melt into the big American pot.
When there was trouble in Pennsylvania, a group splintered off and settled in Missouri. She learned English in the first grade, as did everyone else in the small community. She always had a strong accent and spoke German with her sisters until the end of their lives.
I learned to speak mostly from being around her. The times were that I would get in trouble in school for speaking incorrectly. I recall the H’s and the V’s were the most problematic. I wasn’t necessarily singled out; many of the kids in my school were bewildered by what the adults considered unacceptable about us.
I left home before the age of 18, and learned that the way I’d learned to speak was considered hillbilly by the rest of the country.
Anyway, at some point in her middle age it became imperative that she have a birth certificate, and it was a long hassle for her to acquire one. I recall her having a lot of anxiety about this. A lot. Dealing with the agencies she had to deal with.
Today I carried on. Most of my attention is going to the food box delivery from this morning. I feel confident I can meal plan without the help of AI, but I’m really tired. Which is OK because no one is demanding anything of me today.
no subject
Date: 2026-01-29 12:32 pm (UTC)