Today my darling
,lovely, precious mum is ninety years old. I am sad because I was
unable to visit her on this special day but we spoke on the telephone
several times,laughing,and crying over old memories.
The years have done
little to diminish her real beauty and her mind is still razor sharp,
woe to the cold caller who attempts to get the better of her!
In the forties when she
married my soldier father she had the looks of a movie star,
photographers would take her picture free of charge for the privilege
of being able to use her picture to advertise their skills.
I grew up quite aware
that I had the prettiest mother among my school mates and when she
attended sports days and school plays the heads of both sexes would
turn, either in envy or admiration. She was truly lovely long wavy
auburn hair and delicate features, she was slim too, as slender as a
top model so that she stood out among the burly farmers wives.
As a child I was very
small and very ,very skinny for which I was teased without mercy
,how I hated myself and longed to be like my mother. One day she
found me staring in to a mirror with a scowl on my face fit to crack
the glass.
Earlier in the day I
had been taunted with “You are all eyes and hair.”for my hair was
very long. I hated my hair so much, I took down the kitchen scissors
from their hook and cut off all my hair. The scowl on my face was
there because I realised too late that with my hair short my eyes
looked even bigger and what's more I no longer had my long locks to
hide behind!
I cannot say that mum
was pleased with my hairdressing skills but she saw that tears were
close to the surface and she hugged my close for a very long time,
and while she wiped the tears away she said to me.
“When I was little I
was the smallest and skinniest girl in school, and I was teased about
it just the same as you are being teased now.” I could hardly
believe it she looked so lovely.
“Just remember.”
she said “There are race horses and there are cart horses, those
same big girls who tease you now will grow up to be heavy and lumpy,
those same girls will envy you your pretty face and your slender
legs,just you wait and see.”
It seemed like an
eternity to wait for relief from the daily bullying but looking at
some of the girls responsible I could plainly see that already they
were distinctly overweight, perhaps mum was right.
As I grew older I never
quite achieved my mothers devastating good looks, but I was slim and
the huge blue eyes and plentiful hair which had called forth the
derision of my female classmates began to have quite a different
effect upon the local boys.
The girls teased me
more than ever, but the joke was on them.
Now my darling is
ninety years old, and her hair is pure white,in spite of the years those beautiful eyes still look out of the dearest of faces. Just a few
days ago a neighbour told her that her hair was beautiful, much to
his wife's chagrin!
My mothers real beauty
comes from inside, it shines out like a beacon of warmth bathing all
who see her in warmth and love.
Happy Birthday Mum, I
love you best in all the world.
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