10 Steps to Being a Lady

A Lady Should Never Swear

Ever since I was younger, my mom would tell me that there were 10 steps to being a lady and if I could follow those steps, I would have no trouble getting a man interested in me. She said the steps had been passed on to her from her mother and she swears it was these qualities that made my dad fall madly in love with her.

When my dad left my mom for a younger woman, my mom began to push these 10 steps onto me even harder. She never said it aloud, but I knew that she was secretly terrified that someday I would end up alone like she did.

So, I was forced to follow the steps.

1)     A lady should never swear.

2)     A lady always uses perfect posture.

3)     A lady must leave the house looking proper.

4)     A lady should always follow the rules.

5)     A lady never speaks too quickly.

6)     A lady always uses her manners.

7)     A lady should never wear provocative clothing.

8)     A lady never starts a fight with others.

9)     A lady must not partake in rebellious activities.

10)A lady never associates herself with those who are not approved of by her parents.

When I was younger I used to believe that if I followed each of these steps perfectly, I would never have trouble finding a boy to love me.

But the day I met the love of my life, I somehow managed to break each and every rule. And he still fell in love with me.

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Two Months Ago

 

My mom lowered her china glass down and stared at me. “Charlotte, don’t eat so fast,” she warned. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and nodded, slowing the pace at which I was chewing. Her rules were ridiculous, but I didn’t have the heart to tell her my opinion on her way of life. She followed the steps her mother laid out for her vigorously and expected me to do the same. I was all she had left and I couldn’t bear to break her already torn heart.

I felt my cell phone buzz against my leg, signaling I had received a text. While my mom was busy pouring herself some more tea (I kid you not, she was forcing me to have tea with her), I read the text from my best friend Riley.

I’m outside; get your skinny ass out here.

 

“Uh, mother?”

“Ladies do not say ‘uh’, Charlotte,” my mom warned. She was now reading the newspaper, her reading glasses perched on the end of her nose.

“Sorry. May I be excused from the table? Riley is here, we are going to the library to start our college essays.” The lie fell from my lips easily. I had made a lot of progress from when I was little. Up until I was ten I followed my mom’s example. I was the perfect little project for her. She would spend hours making my long blonde waves look perfect and dressing me up in expensive sundresses.