When I Was Young and Beautiful

It Was Fun and Fleeting

Photo by Yogendra Singh on Unsplash

I’m feeling a little nostalgic today, although I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because my babies are now having babies. Maybe it was my mother’s birthday last week, and I am missing her more than usual. Maybe it’s knowing my mother-in-law starts chemo next week. For whatever reason, I find myself looking into the past and smiling.

I used to be beautiful. Not your average beauty, but really gorgeous. I was a finalist in a beauty pageant, and I modeled quite a bit, although most of it was local. I had a lot of fun being young and beautiful. You know how you see movies of young women walking down the street and men whistling and calling out propositions? That was me.

I remember being pulled over by a police officer once, because I was driving my boyfriend’s car, and it didn’t have an inspection sticker. I was wearing a dress that day, and when I stepped out of the car, I watched him start at my shoe and follow it all the way up my leg and (eventually) to my face. I didn’t get the ticket.

I could easily have been conceited, but I wasn’t, in large part due to my mother, who kept me grounded. She told me beauty was a gift that should be appreciated, that it could be taken away as easily as it was given, and it didn’t last forever. She also taught me that however beautiful a person was…