WHEN
I
was
in
grad
school
,
I
developed
the
____________________
of
tipping
back
in
my
chair
at
the
dining
-
room
table
.
I
would
do
it
whenever
I
visited
my
parents'
house
,
and
my
mother
would
constantly
____________________
me
.
?
Randolph
,
you
are
going
to
break
that
chair
!
?
she'd
say
.
I
liked
leaning
back
in
the
chair
.
It
felt
____________________
.
And
the
chair
seemed
to
handle
itself
on
two
legs
just
fine
.
So
,
meal
after
____________________
after
meal
,
I'd
lean
back
and
she'd
reprimand
.
One
day
,
my
mother
said
,
?
Stop
leaning
back
in
that
____________________
.
I'm
not
going
to
tell
you
again
!
?
Now
that
sounded
like
something
I
could
sign
up
for
.
So
I
suggested
we
create
a
contract
?
a
parent
/
child
____________________
in
writing
.
If
I
broke
the
chair
,
I'd
have
to
pay
to
replace
not
just
the
chair
?
but
,
as
an
added
____________________
,
the
entire
dining
-
room
set
?
Certainly
my
mother
was
right
;
I
was
putting
stress
on
the
chair
legs
.
But
both
of
us
decided
that
this
agreement
was
a
way
to
avoid
____________________
.
I
was
acknowledging
my
responsibility
in
case
there
was
____________________
.
She
was
in
the
position
of
being
able
to
say
?
You
should
always
listen
to
your
mother
?
if
one
of
the
chair
legs
____________________
.
The
chair
has
never
broken
.
And
whenever
I
visit
her
house
and
lean
backward
,
the
____________________
still
stands
.
There's
not
a
cross
word
.
In
fact
,
the
whole
dynamic
has
changed
.
I
won't
say
Mom
has
gone
as
far
as
to
____________________
____________________
____________________
?
