Virago

My mother had a reputation. It wasn't the kind you usually think of: slut, timid housewife, over-zealous soccer mom, boring librarian. No, unfortunately, it was nothing that simple to understand, or easy to deal with.

My mother was known as a virago. I didn't know what that meant until I could read a dictionary, and figure out how to spell the word, and care enough to look it up.

I guess it's not the end of the world, but at least if your mom were a slut, timid housewife, over-zealous soccer mom, or boring librarian, people wouldn't avoid her in a supermarket or un-invite you from their kids' birthday parties. They wouldn't say they pitied you and your father. Your teachers wouldn't cancel every parent-teacher conference, refuse to let your mother be a field trip chaperone, or use some old, antiquated term to describe her.

I asked her once why she is so outspoken, so angry, so difficult. She looked at me as if she had no idea what I were talking about. In fact, I think she genuinely didn't.

What do you do with that?