Home for the Holidays, by Thomas Kincaid

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Show and Tell Friday

Kelli, from There Is No Place Like Home, is once again hosting "Show & Tell Friday". Today, I want to share some old photos that were part of my mother's belongings that were recently sent to me. Old photos and school records, which bring back many memories...

I love the above picture, taken when I was five and part of a dance studio. I was a very feminine little girl, fanciful and open-hearted. I believed in everything magical. The world was a rainbow to me, multi-colored and splendiferous. I was sure I would grow up to live in a castle.
Above, here I am in second grade. A wistful girl. An average student, I was given to daydreaming when I ought to be paying attention. A doctor wrote of me that I had "sensitivity rarely seen in a child her age". I easily made friends, but was shy and longed for solitude.

As the years went by, I grew to be awkward and buck-toothed. Braces didn't add to my self-confidence. I wore dark-framed glasses and struggled with style. I no longer felt like a princess and believed I'd be lucky if anyone would ever take a second look at me.

Then the braces came off. I traded my glasses for contacts. I found my style (romantic). I felt confident and I forgot about myself.

Here I am with Mark, years ago...

Now, I am middle-aged, chubby, at times awkward and not as stylish I once was. But that's okay, because deep inside, I feel like that little girl with the crown on her head. I know that the world can be a scary, sad place, but it can also be magical, where anything is possible .

As we experience life we can one day find that we are far away from our true selves. It's a journey to get to that place and it's a journey to find our way back. It reminds me of a poem that was shared at church last Sunday...
Beautiful Women
At age 3, a little girl looks in the mirror and sees a queen.
At age 8, she looks in the mirror and see Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.
At age 15, she looks in the mirror and sees fat/pimples/ugly and says,
"Mom, I can't go to school looking like this!"
At age 20, she looks at herself and sees too fat/too thin, too short/too tall, too straight/too curly, but she decides she is going anyway.
At age 30, she looks at herself and sees too fat/too thin, too short/too tall, too straight/too curly, but decides that she doesn't have time to fix it and goes anyway.
At age 40, she looks at herself and sees too fat/too thin, too short/too tall, too straight/too curly, but says, "At least I'm clean," and goes anyway.
At age 50, she looks in the mirror and says, "I am" and goes.
At age 60, she looks and reminds herself of all the people who can't see themselves in the mirror anymore and she goes out and conquers the world!
At age 70, she looks at herself and sees wisdom, laughter and ability, and goes out and enjoys life.
At age 80, she doesn't bother to look. She puts on a purple hat and goes out and has fun with the world.
Moral: Maybe we should grab that purple hat earlier!

Courtesy of the Purple Hat Society

Have a lovely day!
Elizabeth

16 comments:

Janet said...

What a special blog! Thank you for giving me something to think about! Have a wonderful week-end, sending hugs from South Africa!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Such a beautiful post. One of the nicest things about growing older is that we learn from our mistakes, we have some of the deep scars of life but we also carry the magic with us.

Susan said...

Cute pictures. Love the poem. I don't have a purple hat but I wear my gray hair proudly!!!!
Susan

Hootin Anni said...

Great stuff. Wonderful memories. And ya...purple. Anything purple!!

My Show N Tell is Disney today. Come by if you can find time. Happy Friday.

Love Bears All Things said...

A wonderful post. Thanks for sharing.
Mama Bear

The Feathered Nest said...

What a wonderful post sweet Elizabeth! The photograph of you two is so good, your beauty emanates from you dear friend, xxoo, Dawn

The Old Parsonage said...

You'll always be that princess in his eyes.

Enjoy the now!

Elena said...

Thank you for sharing the pictures and sharing about yourself. God bless you! Elena

abnsigoslady said...

What a special post. Thanks for sharing it with all of us. Laura @ the mansion

Mindy said...

That was a great post. I passed the verses on to my daughters, who are 20 and 16 and I know will appreciate them.

Unknown said...

Elizabeth,

This is a great post! I have heard that verse before and it is so true. The more "mature" in years, the more liberated and real we can become - ironically like when we were very young & anything was possible. Love your cute photos!

Kelli said...

Such a sweet post and I enjoyed seeing the beautiful photos, too!
~Kelli

Trish said...

Oh I love this post Elizabeth. AND...I love your photos. What do you mean....awkward! Gosh...I don't think so...anyone who writes with such thot and purpose is simply beautiful and full of grace. AND...I've seen pictures you have posted so I know tis not true! Grin. But you know, as we watch our children grow up to be what we once were....we do feel less than perfect and begin to see ourselves through their eyes. Take care...love that long skirt and that pose on the bench. Not a bad looking husband you have there either!

Alexandra said...

LOL...at least I'm clean, yep, that's me. Thanks for sharing! I was a daydreamer as well, so is my son.

Here's to finding our inner child. :)

Anonymous said...

It time to put on that purple hat and live!!!!!!!!!!!!

janet said...

what a wonderful story, thanks for sharing.
hugs
janet