Coolness

The other day I was given a blog award. (Thanks, Krispy!! You should visit her blog. She and her blog buddy do great book reviews, talk about writing, and they're in the midst of NaNoWriMo* in August.) And when Krispy mentioned me on her blog she called me “cool.” I told my kids about it at dinner. “I was called ‘cool’ today by someone who actually is.”

Sighs were heard from around the table. Then, came the commentary. “Yeah, my friend (name redacted to protect the innocent) told me that he thinks you’re cool.” And “my friend X said, ‘Wow, your Mom is so cool.’” Several similar statements were made. My kids were not happy. Apparently, moms aren’t supposed to be cool.

I explained that everyone has an opportunity to be cool. My husband Cal was cool when he was young. Even when we were married, everyone thought he was “a surfer dude” back in the day when that was a compliment. (He did have beautiful, streaked blond hair and a dark tan.) But Cal used up his coolness when he was young. Though he's still very handsome.

I, on the other hand, had a full contingent of the possibility-for-coolness left over from adolescence because I have never been cool. In the ’80s, when everyone was listening to Pearl Jam, Blue Oyster Cult, and, even, Debbie Gibson, I was listening to Gene Krupa, Benny Goodman, and Judy Garland. This, of course, made me extremely cool in the late ’90s and early ’00s when big band music was the latest rage. And when most people were watching Freddie Kruger, my friends (Hi, Kristin) and I watched Hitchcock revivals and Cary Grant movies. We dressed up and went to an old theater and sat with really old people who were also dressed to the nines. I wore a white dress and hat. And I even had white gloves.

Of course, now that Cary Grant is cool, all my kids’ friends know that I have near-complete knowledge of the Cary Grant oeuvre, including movies like Penny Serenade and I Was A Male War Bride.

I remembered when my daughter was in elementary school and had friends to the house for a birthday sleepover. I put in Roman Holiday. Some girls said, “Euw, black and white.” Two hours later, those same girls were in tears and said, “Oh, Mrs. Keller, I have to go home and watch that with my mom.”

Then there was the time that Jake and his friends were bored out of their minds. So I sat in the midst of them and said, “Old Captain Kirk versus New Captain Kirk.” Much discussion later, the new Capt. Kirk had won, and we were discussing the merits of Voldemort versus Darth Vader.

As I thought about these things, my head began to swell. My kids’ friends thought I was cool. But then, I realized that I was going to have to ask one of my kids how to post the award on my blog because I had no idea how to do it. I was like a pin prick in my swelled head. Because everyone knows that the new cool is nerdy, and I’m tech-challenged.

At least, my kids are cool.


* For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. It's in November and the participants try to write 50,000 words in one month, which I can't imagine. I'd be drooling on myself by the end of the month. No, not really, it would be by the end of the first week.


PS I'm pass the award along and fulfill all the obligations on Wednesday, when I get help putting up the award.


PPS Thanks to to Susan who also said she was giving me the award. You should visit her blog too. She's always got some random, funny facts to share. And who doesn't need a smile?