Smiling Mom

Please wel­come my guest pos­ter for The Blog Exchange, Vicky from The Mummy Chro­nic­les. After you read Vicky’s entry, please head over to her site to see my entry.

In a child’s eyes she was more than the woman who could sca­rily flip her eye­lids inside out she was the one and only per­son who I would eat Total cereal and unsal­ted potato chips for.

In a child’s eyes she made ‘Mys­tery’ just as much fun to watch as ‘Love Boat’ and the Sun­day night Dis­ney movie.

In a child’s eyes she made swin­ging on the porch the only way to spend an after­noon, going to the gro­cery store an adven­ture with spe­cial treats, and she ins­ti­lled the fine art of French coo­king even the drea­ded Buche de Noel.

In a child’s eyes she would play end­less kid­die bits on the piano for a con­cert of one. In a child’s eyes it was all in good fun and not the glass cei­ling brea­king con­cert pia­nist that she actually was. Her records were more enjo­ya­ble to dance to rather than lis­ten to with awe and admiration.

In a child’s eyes she was and is Memere, the woman who gave me the sense to unders­tand why good man­ners are impor­tant and not just nee­ded. That living is an art and a skill to be acqui­red. Lips­tick should always be worn when lea­ving the house and your purse is meant to bring a smile to your face not just for carr­ying your wallet. Aprons are a must. Sim­ple food is just as good as the fancy stuff and a clean kitchen is the key to hou­sehold orga­ni­za­tion. Deco­ra­ting your kitchen with roos­ters is just an added bonus we both share.

In this child’s eyes she crac­ked me up when she would take out her false teeth and brush them in front of me. Her pink flo­ral bath­room with its spe­cial and equally pink soap enchan­ted me. The black tiles and tiny medi­cine chest glea­med and always held inte­res­ting trea­su­res like pow­der puffs and per­fume in old fashio­ned bottles.

In this child’s eyes now a woman with a child of her own, I can only look back fondly and with great love and admi­ra­tion for what an inc­re­di­ble woman she was and is today. At 87, she is still beau­ti­ful and her smile can light up a room. Des­pite age and its mala­dies she still dazz­les with the piano. I wish I had spent more time simply sit­ting and lis­te­ning when I had the chance. She is more than Memere. She is Bea­trice, one of the role models and men­tors in my life. A woman I res­pect, love, and can only hope to be even a smid­gen like one day.

Vicky, is a free­lance wri­ter and WAHM, who resi­des daily at her blog, The Mummy Chro­nic­les and Mummy’s Pro­duct Reviews. Her daugh­ter, T.D. has the middle name Beatrice.

The Talen­ted Bea­trice, also known as Memere with my daughter-2006