Interview with Mom: My mama could write for "Mad Men."

I recently spotted a church sign that read, "MOTHERS ARE A GIFT FROM GOD."

And then I barfed.

OK, not really. I just rolled my eyes really hard. Perhaps I'm a teensy bit sensitive, but it seems like Mothers' Day has morphed into The Canonization of All Mothers Day. As a non-mama, this makes me a bit testy, as if the world is closing in with pitchforks and torches, ready to teach me once and for all that I have no value as a female human since I'm not a mom.

Possibly jumping to conclusions, table for one?

But after my initial eye roll, the church sign initiated this thought process:

• What EVER.
• Well, actually, my mom truly is a gift from God.
• My mom is awesome.
• Mothers' Day, I will focus on my mom!

Sadly, this does not mean that I'm spending this week just staring at my mom, following her around, gazing at her with adoration. Although that would be fun for the whole family.

No, instead, I interviewed my sweet mama. She is lovely and amazing and knows a lot of things about a lot of stuff. Also, she's patient and puts up with my random requests.

Here's Part I of our chat.

Me: OK, let's get the big question out of the way: I'm your favorite, right?

Mama C: You are my very favorite daughter!!

Me: Ha. Yeah, I am. (Ed. note: I'm the only daughter.) When did you know you wanted to be a mom - or did you?

Mama C: I guess I always wanted to be a mom ... played with many dolls. I was of an age that I ended up on the line between 'you get married and have kids' and 'I'm gonna burn my bra and change the world' attitudes.

Me: What did you think of the feminist movement? What impact did it have on you?

Mama C: Again, see above comment. I was caught in the middle -- young enough not to be happy with the way things were "supposed" to be with women being second-class citizens, but not quite young enough to really rock the boat. I worked in the "Mad Men" environment, which could be very difficult. I believed that if I could do a job as well as a man, I should have the opportunity to have that job and be paid the same as a man. But I never worked in a situation where that really became an issue because of where I was employed ... not a big corporation, etc.

Me: I know "Mad Men" is a great show, and, well, Jon Hamm - come on. But I can't watch it because it's really upsetting to see how the women are treated. How did you deal with all those tiny slights?

Mama C: I could definitely write a few episodes of "Mad Men." Hard to comprehend, perhaps, but I was 19, 20, 21, working in an environment where my boss was the epitome of a gentleman and the rest of the men harassed me. They thought nasty cartoons or items in a desk drawer were hysterical. One thought the secretaries all needed shoulders rubbed when he came up behind them while they sat at their desks. The men were too happy to get a reaction and I learned to shut the desk drawer without comment and to suddenly scoot my chair backwards with satisfying results.

Me: HA! I hope you had one of those chairs with the big metal adjuster thing on the back.

Mama C: You know, I did!!! … And not to brag or anything, as your Dad has said, I was 'hot' and I wore incredibly short skirts and have great legs. Don't know how I did it. Okay - moving on.

Me: You can't help it that you're incredibly good looking.

Mama C: And my daughter is sooooo much like me.

Me: Damned straight. (Ed note: I should be so lucky.)

Tommorrow ... find out what Mom has to say about raising a daughter and finding personal style.