I found this picture on a news site on the Internet; I imagine quite a lot of people viewed it. It took me a moment, though, to realize that was a dress sticking out from under the coat. This digger was a woman. My mother was a very good-looking woman, and, frankly, I don’t see the same lines of beauty in this woman’s face. I do see determination and my mother had that; she dug out after the blizzard of “78. She dug out every year – one shovelful at a time.
When she died, the people across the street told me at her visitation that the previous winter she had dug out a place for the mailman and the snowplows kept closing it up – so she climbed up on top of a snow ridge and wouldn’t let the next plows mess it up. She would have been 82 that year, and I’m certain she was dressed as if she could have been on the slopes at Aspen.
She had spunk and class; I have a temper and wear about anything. I’m certain I was a disappointment to her, but one thing though, I can shovel. Maybe that can be my epitaph.
I have an old Charm magazine from the 1940s. My great-aunt was a New York fashion editor and in that particular magazine is my mother modeling the year’s fashionable ski clothing. She is amazing. She retained that grace and beauty her whole life even after years and years in the sun as a rancher’s wife. Now I’m not sure that grace and beauty got passed down to me, I like you tend to dress how ever I want and who cares what I look like. I can dress up for the required company event but mostly I’m found in t-shirts and jeans or exercise clothes. I’m happy. But my mom would probably be horrified to see what I go to the grocery store in.
At least I’ve never been found on the people of walmart website.
Ack!! I read this just before going out and went back and put a belt on my jeans.