Beauty is but a flower

Which wrinkles will devour.

~Thomas Nashe

Sarah reflected onto a time, when in her youth, her beauty captivated many folks, in the small town where she lived with her mother, just north of the Hollow Ridge Bridge. Many thought she had what it took to grace the covers of the latest fashion magazines, and many would urge her mother to seek fortune and fame for her daughter.

Sarah’s mother, however, was wise and she knew the burden that can come with youthful physical beauty. She saw how quickly her own beauty faded in time and how her looks became like that of the dull shadows that eventually covers over on an old faded mirror.

Disregarding countless beauty pageant entries and mindless photo shoots to fill her young daughter’s modeling portfolio, Sarah’s mother, instead,  opened a ‘shop’  in her daughter’s mind.

This specialty shop began small and simple.

As far back as she can remember, Sarah watched her mother on many occasions, sitting with frail old Miss Taylor in the sun room of the Dragonfly Nursing Home. It had the same familiar old folk’s home smell and the drab furniture sparsely scattered around the room.

Sarah sat alongside mother.

The only inventory mother would stock were a handful of classic read-aloud books.

Miss Taylor, to the very young Sarah, looked to be at least ninety years old, but, when mother read aloud from the classic book, David Copperfield, every wrinkle seemed to disappear from Miss Taylor’s face and the room became magically lit and transformed.

As mother’s soothing voice slowly read over Mr. Copperfield’s  words, a smile beamed across the almost blind Miss Taylor’s aged face:

“My meaning simply is, that whatever I have tried to do in life, I have tried with all my heart to do well; that whatever I have devoted myself to, I have devoted myself to completely; that in great aims and in small, I have always been thoroughly in earnest.”

This smile appeared every time Miss Taylor heard those words and young Sarah, unknowingly, kept every smile locked in her heart.

Sarah found peace from the happiness that radiated from Miss Taylor’s being; and Sarah’s mother knew her daughter was receiving the secret foundation to eternal beauty and the key to success for her specialty shop.

Nothing any store-bought makeup would match so perfectly.

This foundation went beyond skin deep and covered any imperfections Sarah’s physical body would endure with aging.

Both Sarah’s mom and Miss Taylor have long left this world and the specialty shop operates with boundless energy and life. The Dragonfly Nursing Home residents are kept captivated, not so much with Sarah’s fading outer beauty, but with the golden glimmer of her radiant inner essence.

The funny thing is, when Sarah tries to read aloud from more recent novels, David Copperfield is still a favorite read-aloud story among her clients.

Go figure.

In honor of her mother’s birthday and every Mother’s Day, Sarah lovingly places a golden-yellow rose flower on top her mother’s grave.

If you listen closely, you may catch her whispering, ”thank you, Mama, for wisely opening the specialty shop within me so long ago, and teaching me that the path to true happiness and true beauty comes by giving away the simple gifts in life.

Miss Taylor’s memories are living happily over at the Dragonfly Nursing Home.

When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age. ~Victor Hugo

Blessings to all mothers everywhere who teach their children valuable life lessons on the spirit of devoted giving and doing well with all their hearts.

Happy Mother’s Day 2012