A few weeks ago on Twitter two wonderful writer friends and I were debating the prevalence of selfies, whether we like to have our pictures taken or not… Then either Anna Fonte @girlinthehats or Courtney Bluebird @bluebirdblvd had the idea ‘What would a picture of ourselves taken by our mother look like?’ In my case: frightening.
Answer below.
Half-sober, half-crazy. Half-angel, half-devil. Angry, tarty, difficult. Too much make up, too much hair colour. Too fat and not eating all the healthy foods. But well-read and professional on a good day, thanks to the education they have given me.
Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Now over to you, ladies!
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If my mother took my picture she would get half my hand and most of the TV (sorry, mum!)
Yes, back in the days when camera lenses still had lids, there were any number of ‘black’ pictures my mother took with the lid on… But that wouldn’t have made for a good self-portrait, would it?
Depends on whether you wanted to be incognito…
I did, to be honest. Have avoided showing my real face so far, because I try to keep my ‘corporate’ life separate from my ‘creative’ one. But well… throw caution to the wind and all that!
yes, go for it! Putting our lives in compartments is exhausting, and ultimately self-defeating. We’re just who we are.
What a ‘photo! I love the way you explain it , too!
The make up looked much more garish in the mirror… ah, well!
Hahaha! Mothers, eh? Our greatest fans on a good day – our harshest critics the rest of the time. Two little snapshots of my own Mum’s constant supportiveness…
When I was seventeen going abroad with an eighteen-year-old friend for the first time, my mother warned me not to lead her astray…
A few weeks after an op to remove her long-standing cataracts, my mother gazed at me for a long time and then remarked ‘You know, I always thought you had such beautiful skin…’
I miss her!
Ah, yes, sounds like she would have got along with my Mum…
Now there’s a challenge! Bravely done!
Thank you – I’m not very gifted at photography or make-up, but it’s almost the kind of result I had in mind.
OMFG This Is FABulous. I am thrilled on many levels by this. I wonder what you mom says, too (does she read your blog?!). I have been working on my mother’s pov, too, and I will def respond to and join in this fun asap. Oh, Marina, I’m so glad we’re playing!
Looking forward to it and thank you for sparking the debate!
My mother read my blog? Goodness, no, she’s just waiting for all that writerly nonsense to work its way out of my system so I can focus on my real work and important things in life. 😉
Came to you from the fabulous girl ^ . What a novel idea! Frightening, really… I’d have to think about this 🙂
It is a bit scary. I think Courtney said that her mother would be one of the few people she would trust to take a good picture of her, so that got us all thinking…
Fascinating post!
Mine would probably feature a crooked fringe, since my mother used to trim it…
Awww, cute… although it probably felt very uncool at the time.
that is very interesting – i wonder how my mom would see me… the picture would’ve been terrible i believe in my teenage years – i was not an easy teen – today though i think it would be quite peaceful…smiles
You a difficult teenager, Claudia? I can’t imagine that… 😉
Being a narcissistic sociopath, she is too toxic to get near. Besides, she can only focus on herself and her target and I am finished with that.
Did you read Mother, Mother by Koren Zailckas – recognised so much of my mother in it (under the melodramatic, heightened touches).
No I’ve never heard of it. I did write it down and thank you.
I wrote a blog post about Bad Mothers, if you are interested, in which I talk about this book and some others. A subject that never fails to ‘fascinate’ me, although it’s perhaps the wrong word. More like a snake fascinates me…
https://findingtimetowrite.wordpress.com/2014/03/20/reading-with-a-theme-bad-mothers/
Thank you, I will check it out and I know what you mean. However, I am no longer fascinated by it. I am grateful to the wonderful people who have accepted me and allowed me to heal. It is rare that she even enters the periphery of my conscience. However, the focus on today brings about thoughts on another loss, that of my daughter. A double whammy.
Oh, so, so sorry to hear that! Thinking deeply of you and your loss.