Today's post is for GBE2's week# 49 prompt - Take Two: A Fresh Look. It also fulfills today's A to Z Challenge letter T. So with a few tweaks to make it current, here is the second post I wrote when I started my blog in August of 2011.
The Lost Art of Being a Lady
After my mom was killed in a car accident last summer, my sisters
and I faced the difficult task of going through her belongings. Mom
lived a simple life, so there wasn't a lot of fancy or extravagant
things to go through, mostly clothes, a few nick-knacks and a little
jewelry. Among those humble belongings, I found a piece of mother
that will stay with me the rest of my life.
Tucked away in a dresser drawer was Mom's stack of ladies cotton handkerchiefs. She never went anywhere without one of these hankies in her purse or pocket. I don't think I ever saw her without one. And now, you will always find a cotton hanky in my purse.
Back in the day, as we all like to say, a lady would never be caught without a beautiful cotton hanky on her person. Whether it was tucked in her belt, pocket or in her purse, it was always close at hand...ready to dry a tear, or to catch the eye of a nearby gentleman when it was dropped on the floor. After all, how many gentlemen would stop to pick up a paper tissue?
In today's environment, being a lady has almost become a 4-letter word because of feminists movements and independent thinking, etc. I'm not saying that's all bad. We certainly had a lot of room for improvement and changes needed to be made. But in the process of becoming equal with the male species, have we also lost much of our femininity? Have we become so tough and independent that we have totally forgotten how to be a lady? Being a lady is about being kind, sensitive and caring. It's about knowing when to be soft spoken and when to be heard: standing up for injustice while being sensitive to the needs of others. I believe we can be strong and independent, without giving up the basic traits of a lady. My mom was a lady.
Carrying a cotton hanky in my purse may seem like a trivial thing to most people, but to me, it's my link to the past. It's a piece of my mom that I will carry with me always...a reminder of days gone by... memories of a special lady...and hope for the future because of the lessons she taught. Thanks Mom.
I don't carry hankies, but I do believe in raising my sons as gentlemen. Take off your cap in the house, hold a door for a lady, and we do use real napkins at dinner with napkin rings.
ReplyDeleteSandra, carrying hankies doesn't make a lady. Manners and courtesy is what makes a lady and there is no better example than to teach your sons to be gentlemen.
DeleteCotton hankies! They were standard issue when I was a child, some simple and unadorned, some with lovely lacy edges.
ReplyDeleteI love your view of what being a lady means, Kat, and I agree with it. We can be strong, independent, and impacting without losing sight of the innate gifts that we, as women, are blessed to have. It sounds as though your mom provided you with a wonderful example.
Thank you Beth. Yes, cotton hankies were the thing back then but it takes much more than carrying a cotton hanky to be a lady. You are definitely a lady! ♥
DeleteTender from your perspective... appreciated as part of you.
ReplyDeleteThank you k~. You are always so sweet. You possess those traits that make a lady! ♥
DeleteThis is the Kat that I love. My strong, capable lady friend. ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Jo. I love you too, Lady! ♥
DeleteMy husband always has a handkerchief with him - always. I can count on him to hand it to me at a sad movie when he hears me start to sniffle. I think it's very gentlemanly and, yes a little old-fashioned - but that's what makes it so charming.
ReplyDeleteMy husband always carries a handkerchief too. And there is nothing wrong with being old-fashioned.
DeleteI have many of my moms hankies that I got fromher after she passed as well. She could be your mom's twin. This post was lovely and a beautiful tribute to your mom. Not many women I know fall into the category of 'lady" as you described your mom. They were a rare breed indeed.
ReplyDeleteI thank heaven for the invention of tissues as I remember the day of having to wash (and iron) cotton handkerchiefs, but I do understand why you want to carry one of your Mom's hankies with you.
ReplyDeleteYes, I still carry tissues too. Mom's handkerchief is more of a sentimental thing.
DeleteI have a drawer full of my grandmother's handkerchiefs, however the lace edging is annoying to me. I'm trying to visit all the A-Z Challenge Blogs in April. My alphabet is at myqualityday.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by and I will check out your blog.
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