Life Lessons Month of November: Blog 4- Letters from Mom & Mimi

Hi Ellie-bean!

Life Lessoned Learned #38: Apparently a ‘crack’ has more than one definition!

El, my blog this week stems from a comment you made to me recently while we were playing dolls.

“Mimi, why do you have a crack on your face?”

“Is it food?” I questioned.

“Nope,” you stated matter-of-factly.

“Is it my make-up?” I asked next.

“Nope,” you said all knowingly.

“Is it a scratch?” I inquired.

“Nope… it’s just a crack,” you sighed, obviously already bored with the interrogation.

Completely perplexed by what could possibly be on my face and having no mirror to look into, I had to ask your mommy.

With a giggle she replied, “Oh, that crack is just a wrinkle!”

Now I know I am old, but for a moment I was dumbfounded!  “A wrinkle?”

“Yeah,” your mommy answered and then turned to you and explained that it was actually a laugh-line.

“A laugh-line?” I voiced as I forced the muscles in my right cheek to rise upward.

Now it was my turn to let out a giggle.  Like a said, I know I am old and I know that with ‘oldness’ comes wrinkles, but I guess this was the first time that someone actually brought attention to my being the actual ‘old one!’

And then wouldn’t you know the very next day at school I was double whammied!

While working with a group of children one of the little girls (I’ll refer to her as Sally) said that she was going to be a teacher when she grew up.  I told her that I thought she would make a wonderful teacher.  Sally then asked me if I would still be working at the school when she got her first job.  I answered with a bit of hesitation, “Welllllllllllllllllllllllll, I’m not sure.” 

“Yeah, you’ll probably be retired by then,” Sally concluded quite endearingly.

And without missing a beat a little boy sitting next to her (Ill refer to him as Jimmy) looked up from his work and blurted out, “No she won’t.  Mrs. Russell will be dead by then.  She is old.”  Jimmy said this, not to hurt me, but more like he was stating hard-facts from a World Book Encyclopedia! 

Oooooops.  I guess my reference of World Book just backed-up his statement…. I should have said Wikipedia or Snopes!

No matter Ellie… the children at school gave me a fit of the giggles just like you did!

And that one obvious crack that you brought attention too, or laugh-line, or wrinkle (which is actually one of my many) or whatever you want to call it got me thinking.

That crack took many years to form, and it has weathered many facets of life.  El, there are world-renowned photographers that have been quite successful in capturing the day-to-day lives of the elderly.  And their success came from zooming in and capturing the depth, the emotion and the grit that has gone into each of those cracks.  I would like to think mine hold some wisdom, or at least some learned knowledge that I can pass on.  Although I slightly fear my many blunders over the years might trump them.  I guess I will never really know, but I can certainly hope. 

So I guess the lesson I have learned Ellie is that for every ‘crack’ I bore, I have truly earned.  They have been formed from love, hard work, tears, compassion, faith, joy and so much more.  There is an old saying: “Beauty is only skin deep.”  Not true.  El, those cracks have great beauty for their beginnings go well beyond the surface.  Those cracks hold the history of each individual.  They tell ones story in great depth.  And the awesome thing is, just like snowflakes, there are no two cracks exactly alike!  God planned each of our “beginnings and ends” to be unique.  And even though ‘cracks’ hint at ones loss of youth, I am a firm believer of that age-old saying: You’re only as young as you feel.  And Ellie with you and Will around, I shall never get old!

I love you my little playmate!

Mimi