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Unread 01-15-2025, 11:59 AM
Susan McLean Susan McLean is online now
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Iowa City, IA, USA
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Thanks, everyone, for your responses and suggestions.

Glenn, "Unspoken" is my intended title. I usually use a false title on the thread index to deceive any bots, though sometimes readers prefer that title, and I have been known to change to it. This is a poem about my mother. I think your first theory has elements of the truth in it, and your third theory might have a little, but I don't think the Impostor Syndrome fits her. Instead, of it, I have the theory that she was born into a time that had no use for women with many of her skills, so she adapted by switching to the skills that were acceptable for women of that time. One of my aunts, who had a similar skill set, complained all the time and was deeply unhappy about her lack of suitable career opportunities. But my mother never complained, and seemed to be happy, as far as her children could tell.

Richard, I prefer "pulled" to "raised" because the former suggests something more powerful. My mother played a lot of Chopin, so it is hard to single out one particular work.

Jim, the city she was driving through was Washington, DC, a maddeningly difficult place to drive because of its many one-way streets, but she seemed to have a map of it in her head and could navigate it unerringly. I want to keep the phrase "her skill at making pie" because I am listing her qualities, and the pie itself isn't one of those.

Hilary, yes, I could not omit Chopin, who seemed to be her favorite, judging by how often she played his works. I could not single out just one of them. I am glad that the ending works for you as I intended.

Susan
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