Who do you look like?

 

My whole life, everyone has told me I looked like my Dad.  We both had blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin as opposed to my Mom and sister’s big brown eyes and darker complexion.  Funny enough about 7 years ago, I had to start wearing glasses to read and realized I didn’t look like my Dad, but my Grandma. 

As soon as I put on my first pair of reading glasses and looked in the mirror, all I could see was my Mom’s mother, Popie, looking back at me in the reflection.  Never once in my life had anyone ever said I looked like Popie, yet that is exactly who I looked like.  I have no idea why we never made the connection before because Popie and I are the only women on either side of the family who are 5’8, wear a size 10 shoe and have the exact same blue eyes.  We always thought I had my Dad’s blue eyes, but because Popie always wore glasses you could never see her eyes that well, but they were the same as mine. 

Now that my hair is red, similar to my how my Popie’s once was, I know just how I will look when I get old.  Popie’s eyes got deeper set with time and like everyone else, she complained her nose continued to grow.  Now that all I can see when I look in the mirror is my eyes and nose, I realize my nose which used to drive me crazy in high school, because it wasn’t perfect, has gotten even bigger than I realized.  I kept asking Lou last night, “how did my nose get so big”?  He told me, “Honey your nose has always been that size.”  Of course I then had to relive the conversation my grandfather on my Dad’s side once had with me. 

Grandpa Whitaker was notorious for his snide and not so funny comments, which he thought were rather hilarious.  When one day in high school he was calling to talk to my Dad and I answered the phone.  As we were talking I will never forget what he suddenly said to me. ” You should ask your parents for a nose job for your 16th birthday.  All the girls in Beverly Hills do that!”  “What, I don’t have that big of a nose, do I?”  “Well, I think it looks like Barbara Streisand’s nose, don’t you think she has a big nose?”  I was stunned into silence for a moment.  I knew my nose wasn’t as big as Barbara Streisand’s.  I then realized he was just trying to be get me riled up.  I politely told him that I was not getting a nose job for my 16th birthday and I handed the phone over to my Dad and stormed off.

As I am sure you can imagine, I never forgot that conversation, but it worked magic for me in a positive way.  I decided right then and there that even though I didn’t love my nose, no way was I going to ever get a nose job.  I’ll show him.   

So now that I have the red hair all I can see is my nose.  I have decided blonde hair hides a multitude of sins on your face such as poor complexion, a big nose and wrinkles.  Everything just blends together, so you don’t notice all the imperfections.  I am trying to ignore my newly discovered imperfections and focus on the person Popie was and I hope to be.

Popie was probably the nicest person I have ever known.  She worked so hard her whole life, and was married to Popa, who was quite the handful, yet she never said a mean word about anyone.  She was funny, smart and always kind.  When she wasn’t happy about something she usually looked at you quietly and didn’t give a mean look just a long look. 

So I am going to enjoy looking like Popie and aspiring to be like her everyday.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and THANK YOU for all the birthday wishes. 

I didn’t do much different than I usually do except eat a bunch of cupcakes, but it was a great day!