mother

"Respect" isn't just an awesome song by Aretha Franklin. It's a seemingly simple word loaded with meaning, from showing respect for our elders to seeking respect at work to demanding respect in relationships. In the Respect Campaign of the Family Violence Prevention Fund, it means respecting yourself and your loved ones in order to avoid resorting to violence or emotional abuse.

So in honor of Mother's Day and the Respect mission, tell me: what lessons did you learn from your mother about respecting yourself and others?

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It's pretty hard to believe that once upon a time, someone took this video seriously. It's a moving portrayal of "Moms on the 'Net," homemaking women whose lives have been changed by a little thing called the Internet.

It's hard picking a favorite part, but I'm saying it's the "Isn't that for techno-geeks with spreadsheets?" line. Although the guy who stops by at the end comes close. He's clearly an adult-film star, right? Hmm, I wonder what kind of action we missed out on at the 3:06 mark? Tee hee.

I guess the soccer mom vote is not only vital to elections, but video games as well now; recently, Microsoft had a group of women host Xbox 360 parties — providing popcorn, a subscription to Xbox Live, and Scene it: Box Office Smash, with the hopes that they'd show their friends the system's advantages.

The marketing hope is not unlike the Tupperware parties of the '80s (I actually went to purse parties in college); let people test something out in a non-threatening environment. I think it's also brilliant, because for younger kids, it's often their mothers who will make the decision of whether a video game console is acceptable or not.

Wonder what would have happen if GTA IV had been the tester game. . .

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Dear Sugar,

My boyfriend and I have been going out for four years; since I was 20. Despite working full time, he still lives at home with his mother who is very controlling, and in turn, he lets her treat him that way. The problem is he can't say no to her. She frequently makes plans for him and guilts him into staying home. It's gotten to the point where he doesn't have any friends he sees regularly besides me.

The other night we arranged to go out for dinner. When he got home from work, his mom had made him dinner because he forgot to tell her we had a date. Rather than saving the dinner she made for another day, he called and told me he changed his mind about going out and then he got mad at me for being inflexible when I got upset.

Clearly his mother is causing a rift in our relationship. It feels like she is trying to fight me for his attention all the time. This has been going on a long time now so I guess it is my own fault for putting up with it, but I don't think he will ever change. Do you think I should wait until he moves out or see if things change on their own? — Competing Courtney

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Dear Sugar,

My parents are divorced and I've lived in my mother's house for most of my life. I'm currently a student at a very prestigious college. My mom has never fulfilled her responsibilities as a mother. Throughout childhood, I was barely fed and lacked balanced nutrition. My meals were always frozen dinners that my mother bought in wholesale. I've had to work since I was 14 years old so I could pay for my academic competition fees, my own computer, and a lot of my personal expenses. Since my earnings were usually in cash, my mother would "borrow" from me but never pay it back.

I have worked very hard to get where I am, but right now I am struggling to pay for college while my mother lives a lavish lifestyle beyond her means. In the three times that my mother has ever needed to fill out my financial aid applications, she has been four months past due, costing me thousands of dollars that she doesn't contribute to. I paid my first year of college on my own. When I asked my mother to help me with my second year, she acted surprised that I even needed to pay for college at all.

She cries to me that she lives from paycheck to paycheck, but I've seen her collection of expensive perfume and designer sunglasses, and the entire basement piled with her clothes. My father is barely employed with a low salary. I feel terrible asking him for anything. He lives well below his means in order to pay child support and his bills. I'm working overtime, but I'm running out of ideas as the tuition payment deadline approaches. Do you have any advice on how to persuade my mother to help me?

— Dead Broke Brooke

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After hearing stories from my married friends about their husbands, I realize how many men are stuck in their mother's ways! It may be endearing for a guy to be a mama's boy, but it can seem a little childish to demand that something be done a particular way for no reason other than, "that's how my mom did it." Does your significant other act this way? Does he like to do things or ask you to do specific things a certain way because that's the way his mom did it?

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Even if you try to avoid it, you’re going to pick up some traits from your mom. From the way they hold their teacups to how they handle confrontations, moms pass down their tried and true ways of being women in this world. While there may be some bad habits we’d rather avoid, for the most part, the similarities we share with our mothers really are something special. So when it comes to personality and mannerisms, what do you and your mom have in common?

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