The Slice: How you met your mother

One nice thing to do for mothers today is acknowledge they had lives before becoming parents.

And nothing gets right to the heart of it like asking direct questions.

Here are a few suggestions, just to help you get started.

What music did you listen to when you were 14?

Did you have a nickname as a child?

What was the name of the first boy to ask you for a date?

How did you look in jeans as a 19-year-old?

Did any adult relative ever approach you in an inappropriate way?

Ever write a fan letter? To whom?

What was the first thing you noticed about the man you would marry?

Can you remember a favorite birthday present?

Do you recall your first taste of alcohol?

Ever smoke pot as a teenager?

Ever fight with your parents about clothes?

Who was your role model when it came to makeup?

Who was your favorite movie star when you were 16?

How did you deal with boys/young men trying to get to second base?

To what extent did dated ideas about gender and career paths shape your academic experience?

Ever write poetry?

Who did you turn to when your body was changing in ways you didn’t really understand?

What was your craziest hair style?

Any mini-skirt memories you would care to share?

Ever wonder if you might be a lesbian?

What was the name of the best dog in the world?

What movie scene made you cry?

Best advice your father gave you?

What did your brothers think of the boys who sought your attention?

Did you really want to be a mom?

Were you ever a mean girl?

Were you good at sports?

How did you learn to drive?

Ever earn money as a babysitter?

Who was the best cook you ever met?

Break any bones as a kid?

Do you think you would have engaged in sexting?

Ever worry about nuclear war?

What’s something your sister did that filled you with pride?

Who was your favorite teacher?

Ever experience sexual harassment at a job?

Ever groped by a store Santa or subway rider?

Who made the mistake of underestimating you?

Did you see the connection between academic achievement and opportunity?

What kind of guys did you go for when you were a young woman?

Ever learn self-defense techniques? Ever have to use them?

How is the texture of your hair different now?

What do you wish you had known earlier about discerning a man’s character?

How worried were you about giving birth?

Today’s Slice question: In dodgeball, were you a hunter or prey?