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Parents and fandom

Does anyone else get really weirded out sharing stuff they love with their parents? Not like R rated stuff, just stuff you're really fond of.

I asked my mom if she wanted to watch the Hobbit with me last night because I didn't want to seem like a cave dwelling troll that didn't want to share my movie, you know, just to be sociable and everything, and my mother, good human being that she is, obliged me and said, "What's it about?" Well, there's a normal, average kind of dude who gets hooked into going on an adventure with a bunch of other dudes and he learns a lot about himself. "Well, it's a little outside my norm, but sure, I'll watch it with you."

We only got through about a half of the movie last night, but I spent that half of the movie mostly paying attention to my mom. I got really excited every time my mom laughed. I was afraid she was only watching with me to humor me, and I know she doesn't have a lot of free time, and I want her to spend it doing things she wants to do.

Basically, I was sitting there judging my mother and being afraid my mother might be judging me. Now, we share a lot of stuff, my mom and I. We spin wild theories about Downton together and we tune in to Masterpiece Classic on Sundays and we like to sit and read and drink tea, but fantasy and sci-fi is something I share a lot with my dad. (Who, as it happens, was also watching with us last night, but I inherited my copy of the Hobbit from him, so he's a non-entity in this conversation.) I would identify my father as a fan; he's fluent in Star Trek references and took me to the movies to see Return of the King. My mom? Not so much. I can't think of a fandom I could identify my mother with. I realized when I went to bed last night I was deathly afraid my mother would at some point turn to my father and say "What is this our daughter is watching? She is twenty-four years old and she is spending her days and her time reading about place that doesn't exist instead of doing something useful."

I know my mother wouldn't actually say that, but it terrifies me just the same.

Does anyone else know that feeling?

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