I know my mother is looking at this post, cursing me for posting pictures of her. She doesn't like pictures of herself. I on the other hand, happen to love photos of her. I think she is beautiful and I always have. When I was 5 my mother was in a horrible bike accident and her left side of her face was left paralyzed. She was also left deaf in that ear. Her biggest loss was her smile. She only can smile with the right side of her mouth,and from what I hear, her smile was beautiful. She has always been self-conscious of it, but I think she is beautiful because it is who she is and it is what we are together. To me her smile is perfect, whole and complete.
Her accident came when my brother and sister were married or off to college. I was 5 and left with much of the care. My sister helped when she was home, but the day to day things were mine. I will never forget having to hook her face up to a battery and helping her shock her nerves, seeing if they could be stimulated to work again. I remember helping her put on her wig, she wore one until her hair grew back. I remember how thin and frail she was, yet she still worked hard to fulfill her role as a mother. To this day she has a hard time hearing on the phone or talking to people. I will always remember being her ears many a time. With that added responsibility, I think I am a more compassionate and a more grown up person than I would have been with out it. I guess for those reasons, I love how she looks. Her half smile is her courage, it is her bravery, it is the moments of tears and joy we shared over the years as she struggled with her accident physically and emotionally. To me her half smile is all I know. I don't remember her full smile, so to me this smile is what I love and what I know. To me her smile is COMPLETE.
Today, I honor her. Today, I thank her for loving me and my children. Today, I thank her for her smile. The half smile that made me whole.
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