Mama Said, Mama Said 2025
My Recent Performance
I was honored to perform in the 2025 Mama Said, Mama Said show this past Saturday 🎤
Continuing a 12-year St. Louis tradition, 19 storytellers (including me!) took the stage at the Grandel Theatre to share personal stories about motherhood. The performances ranged from inspiring to endearing to heartbreaking to fall-out-of-your-seat hilarious. Each story offered a precious snapshot into the life of its writer, complete with its own flavor and unique gifts.
You can read more about this beautiful St. Louis tradition—now a national PBS special—here ➡️ Mama Said, Mama Said.
My greatest delight of the day was surprising my mom with my piece and performance. After being cast, I secretly coordinated with my dad to invite her to the show, without mentioning I’d be on stage. She didn’t know a thing until I walked across the set to the podium 🥰
The story I shared is about my mom, my grandmommy, and me. It’s about the inescapable imperfection and constant evolution of motherhood. It’s about forgiveness, humility, wholeness, and the kind of love that doesn’t keep score.
Here is my piece—the original version, slightly longer than what I performed live…
I have the most amazing mother; she is absolutely perfect for me. My mom is a very smart lady, but she’s very humble, so it’s not always so obvious. But I’ve seen her behind the scenes. I see the depth of effort and intention she’s put into being a mom, from before she had conceived to after my brother and I were both out of the house, she’s loved us so well.
You see, my mom also had a wonderful mom, my grandmommy, but my mom saw a few ways that she could improve upon her mother’s mothering style. Grandmommy placed a lot of importance on how my mom looked- how she dressed, how she presented, and what people thought of my mom were all very important to my grandmommy.
When I was a little girl, we had friends who would call their daughters “pretty girl” as a cooing affirmation. But not my mom. She called me “sweet girl” to teach me that what’s on the inside is more important than what’s on the outside.
When I went to kindergarten, my mom would offer dresses to me to wear to school. I thought they were absolutely yucky. She might have been disappointed- I mean, who doesn’t want to dress their daughter up in a cute little dress- but she didn’t fight me. She continued to let me pick out my own clothes. As I got older, she never protested when I did my own hair, even if it meant I had 5 ponytails sticking out of my head. And when I would go to middle school with a different color eyeshadow on each eye, way too much blush, and not-my-color lipstick, she didn’t bat an eye.
You see, my mom knew long before I did how fiercely independent her daughter is, and she never tried to stifle me. Through all the heartbreaks, struggle, and drama this brought into my- and so her- life, she didn’t criticize, condemn, or complain. Except one time, my freshman year of high school. I let me tongue loose with her like I never had before and never have since. She just stared me down for a long moment, then calmly said, “You’re being a bitch.”
My mom’s not perfect. She has her shadow, her weaknesses, her faults. She sees them and she knows I see them too. I’m sure that’s partially why she knows I’ll be such a wonderful mother one day; she knows I’ll improve upon her style. My mom’s not a perfect mother, and I won’t be either, but my mom’s shown me just how close to perfect imperfect can be. My mom’s not a perfect mother, and she’s the perfect mom for me.
Thank you to the producers, technical team, and the rest of the cast. This was such a special opportunity—one I didn’t fully realize the depth of until I heard the polished performances of my castmates and felt the responses from our audiences.
Our two live audiences certainly enjoyed the experience, and I have a feeling you will too. Mama Said, Mama Said 2025 will air on national PBS stations in segments throughout the year, with a full airing set for Mother’s Day 2026. Check your local listings for details!