By Jennifer Power Scott Nov 3, 2020 Long, long ago, somewhere in the middle of the pubescent purgatory known as an all-girl grade seven class, a kid with a mushroom haircut and huge 1980s glasses approached my desk and prepared to pounce. I was the silent, studious, scrupulously organized girl who barely spoke. And I think my aversion to verbal communication bugged her for some reason. "Jennifer, can you talk?" she said. "Are you mute? Do you have a tongue?" People have expectations for how people behave, but this mom is fed up with them — read about why it's impossible to live up to them here.