I’m a Perfect Mother
I’m a
perfect mother! Well…not really. In fact, there are times I feel like a
terrible mom. But every now and then, once in a while - like a streak of warm
sunshine streaming down on me, it feels like I did something right. My
grandmother, who was also my namesake, recorded such a moment in her journal
many years ago.
“Maa” kept
a small hand written collection of original poems in a journal she titled
“Gathered Fragments”. The name was derived from a Bible verse. The sixth
chapter of the gospel of John tells of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with five
loaves of bread and two fishes. After
the people had eaten, Jesus instructed His disciples, “Gather up the fragments, that nothing be lost.” (John 6:12, NAS)
There are
many beautiful original poems in “Gathered Fragments”. I am especially fond of
one particular poem that “Maa” wrote. It is a very short poem. She was inspired
to write this little jingle by a comment my father made when he was nine years
old. In her handwritten entry, my grandmother wrote:
“Keith, my biddy #3 came to me today
explaining his views on women. Gesturing
as he spoke, he said, ‘Maa, I don’t like women who are short and fat…and I
don’t like them t-a-l-l and thin either!
I like them just like you!!’ This
was flattering to say the least as I am a bit on the short, fat side.”
My
grandmother was only four feet and eleven inches tall. She was in fact, a bit rounded in her
figure. Her child’s unabashed adoration
prompted her to write this poem:
I posses a perfect figure
And
I never do grow old.
Ah! My face is quite the fairest
And
I’m worth my weight in gold.
With
their nations at their feet.
Movie stars may have their glamour
And
their conquest be complete.
But adoring eyes behold me
Brightly
gazing into mine,
I’m appraised and judged quite perfect
By
my little boy of nine.
Written by: Harriet K. Edwards in 1937
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