32 Comments
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Nancy Stordahl's avatar

Hi Linda,

What a lovely piece to read today. Your memories about your mother stirred up memories for me about mine. My mother always took great pride in her appearance, too. Always lipstick. Always a pair of earrings. Hair always "done".

Loved your ending, too. There she is and always will be.

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Mahi Adsett's avatar

Linda, this is breathtaking, a love letter threaded through memory, scent, and the devotion of hands, the labor of love. The dresser a portal, to the past and to the essence of the mother, captured in gesture, in ritual, in red lipstick pressed to tissue. Your imagery is exquisite each detail full of longing and reverence. That final moment in the mirror is breathtaking. There she is, indeed.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Thank you for reading my piece and for your kind words.

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Sally Showalter's avatar

I love how memories rise from a piece of furniture, a keepsake, now yours. A beautiful story.

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Kathy Camacho's avatar

Lovely!

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Deborah Thompson's avatar

What a beautiful ode to your wonderful mother. Thank you for sharing her with us!

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Thank you, Deborah.

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Anna C Rumin's avatar

beautiful just beautiful.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Thank you so muc!

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Silvana Nagl's avatar

What a beautiful, heart-felt piece of writing. Thank you Linda. It brought tears to my eyes.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Thank you for your kind words, Silvana.

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Sue Fleck's avatar

Charming! Could just feel the emotions all through the narrative . I was transported back to my own childhood as my mother went through her amazingly similar rituals . Nice treat for Mother’s Day. Thank you!

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Armand Beede's avatar

Sue Fleck: Exactly the right memory and feeling.

My Mom, young and vibrant in the 1950s, is a living and present living being in my life, God bless her soul in His Presence.

A gift of long life (now 77) is that these moments live, from 70 years ago, as alive as if they occurred, maybe not yesterday, but certainly last month.

The mind retains the sounds, the look from the boyhood eyes adoringly to the loving Mom, who taught him the horrors of the Third Reich's occupation of her native Charleroi, of girlhood friends sent to forced labor or executed, of bomb raids, of terroristic Army raids, at an age, where her social status should have had her as a Debutante in Bruxelles, but instead saved her life -- Thank God, for she was an RN and NEEDED in war-torn Belgium.

You, Sue Fleck, have those days with Mom still present with you, as I know from sweet experience.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Thank you! It's amazing the little things we remember, even years later, isn't it?

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Archie Fineberg's avatar

Hello Linda,

Thank you for your touching story about your mother and her dresser and mirror. Your description of her making herself up at the mirror brought back vivid early childhood memories for me of my mother at her vanity with silver brush, hand mirror, comb and compact. Watching her transforming her appearance into a “ready to appear in public” state bordered on wondrous.

As I reflect on her this Mother’s Day, I realize that on balance, she was a good mother even if she wasn’t perfect. I would give her a B+. I learned life’s lessons well from her and I even cherish some of her philosophy. In short, she was loving and caring. What more could I ask for?

I think my sister claimed that special piece of furniture when she and I and my brother divided my parents’ belongings following their move into a senior’s facility. We each chose what held special meaning for us.

Thanks again for evoking these memories for me.

Archie Fineberg

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Thank you for your kind words!

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Paula Halpin's avatar

Beautifully written and bittersweet.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Many thanks for reading and for your lovely comment.

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Ann Richardson's avatar

Beautifully written. Doesn’t remind me of my mother (other than the lipstick which I hated on my cheek!) but it evokes a real person.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

It's funny how mothers can be universally similar and different at the same time. Thanks so much for reading.

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Kathy Glennon's avatar

Wonderfully written and it takes me back to memories of my mom…not exactly the same but the same. And my grandmother with her powder ( my mom never used anything but lipstick in my memory). The Evening in Paris gift set was the go to present for my mom but what she really saved for special occasions was Shalimar.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

So many women, like your mother and mine, had a signature or favourite perfume scent. It's amazing what memories the sense of smell can trigger!

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Sarah Prospero's avatar

A wonderfully evocative piece; those lipstick prints on kleenex, the frailty of old age...could have been about my mum. Beautiful work. 💐🩷

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Linda Thompson's avatar

I appreciate your taking the time to read and to leave such a lovely comment. Thank you!

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Alice Elgie's avatar

So much beauty in this writing, which also feels particularly poignant for me at this moment—reflecting as I am on having now lost both my parents. Thank you for sharing.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Mother's Day and Father's Day are hard for those who have lost parents. I still have my mom, but because of her cognitive impairment, she is not the same person she once was. It feels like a loss in one way, and in another I'm glad to still have some part of her. Thank you very much for reading and taking the time to comment.

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Karen Zey's avatar

A tribute straight from the heart. Congrats.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Thank you so much!

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Beth Kaplan's avatar

Beautiful, Linda. And a Happy Mother's Day to your mother who raised a thoughtful, loving daughter.

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Linda Thompson's avatar

Thank you, Beth. Your kind words are truly appreciated!

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