Definitely not(Inhibitions)

You hop in the car with your Mother and drive towards the amusement park just outside of town. You pull up a playlist of some of the classics your mom raised you on, like The Beach Boys and Elvis. She was always a little older soul than her generation. While most teens her ahe were listening to Styx or Tears for Fears, she was spellbound by the records your grandparents had. She made sure to share that fascination with you.

The Monkee's version of "I'm a Believer" comes on, and you're ready to sing it out with your Mom, but you look over and notice she seems kind of timid. Is she still feeling 'old' inside? Does she still have the self image that she's just a quiet old lady and not a young, and fun woman? Time to fix that. You wink and whisper to yourself...

"Mom has far fewer inhibitions, matching those of her current physical age."

Your Mom smiles wider as the song continues. "I'm a believeeeer, I couldn't leave heeeer if I triiiied!", she belts out, horribly off-key, but she doesn't seem to care. As the song comes to an end, she laughs. "Oh Davy! This is just like the old days. Thank you so much for getting me out of my slump. You know, its been hard since your dad died..." She trails off for a moment before picking back up her cheerful, chirpy attitude. "...and I'm thankful you've reminded me there's still some joy left in this life. I mean...I knew that, but I just didn't feel it, you know? A break from being alone was just what I needed."

Her eyes brighten with warmth, and she places her hand on yours, "Thanks for thinking of me on your day off, baby." You look back at her and respond, "Anything for you Mom. You are more important than you realize, and I know its been harder to feel that since Dad passed... But today I wanted to remind you of that." Her hand tightens around yours, but in a comfortable way.

Finally, you've made it to the amusement park. You pay your entrance fee and as soon as you've made it through the gates, she grabs onto your hand and starts pulling you along to the different attractions. She seems very physical, and very in touch with what she wants; a far cry from the self-pitying older woman you saw this morning. Maybe she had more inhibitions and doubts than you realized...