Mother Son
This series includes seven triptychs of myself and my son from ages six to eighteen. Autobiographical stories display the subtly significant and significantly subtle ways we are taught to be male and female in our culture.
Mother Son Age 6
When Jason was six, we lived in Boston just a short walk
When I was six, I was pushed ahead to the second grade
from Fenway Park.
I was the youngest member of the class. Miss Farley the second grade,
Whenever he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew
teacher had a very loud shrieking voice, and I was terrified of her.
up, he would answer without hesitation,
It was the second week of school. I had to go to the bathroom but
”a professional baseball player”
was too scared to ask. For hours I tried to hold it, but eventually a
puddle appeared under my desk. Everyone just started and stared at
that puddle.
Mother Son Age 8
When Jason was eight, his baby teeth were falling out and
permanent ones were coming in on a regular basis.
When I was eight, my teeth were coming in in all directions.
Needless to say, the Tooth Fairy was very busy.
Whenever I smiled, I could tell that my mother was embarrassed.
One night I left a ten dollar bill under his pillow by mistake.
I was more embarrassed at the way my bangs looked.
I quickly switched the $10.00 to a $1.00 when he went to
My mother had always cut my hair,
the bathroom. Later on Jason told me that he had gone to
but she could never cut in a straight line.
the bathroom on purpose so I could change it.
My bangs now matched my teeth.
He said he did it because
he was honest.
Mother Son Age 10
When Jason was ten, he used to love to go to work with his
When I was ten, I asked my mother what menstruation meant.
Grandpa Sidney on Saturday mornings.
She said I should look it up in a book;
When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up,
that’s what her mother had told her to do,
he would answer with conviction that he wanted to go to
and what was good enough for her was good enough for me.
Harvard Business School
so he could take over the family necktie business.
Mother Son Age 12
When Jason was twelve, we sent him to a Sports Camp.
My parents were always very outgoing and charming.
Although he wasn’t a jock,
Whenever they had friends visiting, which was constantly,
we wanted to make sure he fit in with his peers.
they expected me to be outgoing and charming.
Jason hated that camp.
I was always extremely quiet and shy.
When I was twelve, they detected to send me to
Charm school.
Mother Son Age 14
When Jason was fourteen,
When I was fourteen, I had to choose a career.
he said he wanted to be
I was told I could be a nurse, a teacher, an airline stewardess, or a
an actor.
hairdresser. I was afraid of needles, I didn’t want to be far away from
home, and I hated the smells at the hairdresser.
So I chose teacher.
Mother Son Age 16
Jason is sixteen years old.
I was sixteen when I graduated from high school.
He is five feet eleven in Ches tall, wears a size eleven shoes,
I remember lots of kids crying during graduation, so sad that their
and is still growing.
high school days were over. My memories were not so fond. I had
He has acne, his teeth are crooked, (the braces didn’t work)
been the only Jewish student in the high school. In my ninth grade
he refuses to let me photograph him.
history class, when asked by the teacher to describe the Jewish race,
and
Russell D. raised his hand and said Jews had big noses, big lips, and
he has no idea what he wants to be when he grows up.
dark curly hair. I was too scared to confront him. The teacher never
said a word. Throughout my four years of high school,
I never once felt like I fit in.
Mother Son Age 18
Jason is eighteen and a freshman at Harvard.
At the age of twenty, I graduated from college and began my teaching
He has chosen to major in filmmaking.
career with 35 fourth graders at East Elementary. Within a week I
Photography is a required class…
knew that being in the same room with 35 bodies from 9:00 a.m. to
which he begins next semester.
3:00 p.m. was not for me.
I was suffocating.