Who is — The Gum-Popping Champion?

I remember that I admired my mother for many things, but today I remembered that I admired her because of the way she chews gum.

My extended family lives in Pennsylvania, and both of my parents are from there. We took long road trips there from Middle Georgia. My dad couldn’t make it through Virginia without buying gum so that his ears wouldn’t pop.

One of them would pass a piece back to each of us five kids so that we wouldn’t have to endure the annoying crackles, either.

My mom knew how to make that gum make noise. She would blow bubbles like any normal person would, but there was more to it than that. She would blow part of the bubble out and then suck it back in, pulling the bubbles into her mouth to pop them. She would flatten the gum and put it in front of her teeth and suck in instead of blowing out, making tiny bubbles on her tongue. Then she would press those tiny bubbles against her teeth, setting off firecracker pops and snaps, and any leftover air bubbles trapped in the chewy treat would pop between her teeth when she chewed. She was the master of popping gum and I always sort of envied her skills.

Today when I stopped by the gas station on the way home from work, I had my daughter in the front seat of my 20 year-old-car — the daughter that asked if my car was one of the first cars ever made in the car that she was asking about. The car that needs new oil every two weeks.

I left her in the car to run in and get some oil. While I was in there, I thought I might get her a little treat. I am trying to lose weight and I didn’t want to get a big cookie or something, so I got some cotton candy flavored bubble gum.

She got half a piece and I got a whole piece because they were really big. We spent the car ride home popping and smacking that gum in every possible way. I blew huge bubbles that stuck to my glasses and she blew tiny bubbles that wiggled off her lips as she blew them out. She said, “How do you make them so big?” and I tried to teach her, but she still couldn’t quite get it. We also worked on sucking them in and pushing them against our teeth like my mom used to do.

My daughter tried her best, but she wasn’t as good as I was. I’ve been popping my gum for years — ever since my mom taught me how to do it. Back then I thought I would never get it right, but there I was, in my car, teaching my own daughter how to do it.

She probably admires me for being able to manipulate bubble gum in the way that I can — maybe even envies me. She probably thinks she will never learn how to do it right, but eventually she will. Then she can teach her own kids, too.