Thank you to all of you who participated! The inspiration is the word “freckle”. I hope you enjoy!
“Mom,” she said softly one night as her mother tucked her into bed. It was a ritual she figured she was too old for, but she enjoyed it and wasn’t about to say anything. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure sweetheart, anything.” Her mother sat down on the bed beside her feet.
“When did you start liking your freckles?” She said this so quietly she wasn’t sure her mother had heard her, but she had. She was convinced her mother had some sort of superhuman hearing.
“I started liking them once I realized that they were a part of who I was, a part of what made me unique, but I didn’t always,” her mom said truthfully with a small sigh. “I thought they were weird and too different; I felt self-conscious about them and tried to cover them up.”
“You don’t now though,” she observed.
“No,” said her mother looking kindly into her daughter’s eyes. “I don’t. Why are you wondering? Did something happen?”
“I just noticed that no one else seems to have them.”
“Ah,” her mother said knowingly. “Do you feel like you stand out and you don’t like it?”
She nodded her head, feeling her throat tighten with emotion. “Yeah,” she squeaked.
Her mom put a lovely hand on the blanket where it covered her knee. “Darling, why don’t you want to stand out?”
“It feels weird. It feels like everyone is looking at me and judging me. I don’t like it.”
“No one is judging you, I promise.”
“You don’t know that,” she objected.
“One of the amazing things that come with growing older is the realization that all those times you thought people were looking at you and judging you for what you said, or did, or wore, or looked like, they really weren’t. They’re too focused on themselves and worrying about what everyone is thinking of them.”
“But I don’t like them. I’m always thinking about them and wondering if people don’t like them.”
“What’s not to like? They’re beautiful.”
“No, they’re not, they’re weird. I have a bunch of dots all over my body!”
“And that’s something that makes you unique,” her mother assured her.
“It doesn’t feel that way at school.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t look like everyone else.”
“Sweetheart, I know it’s hard to believe right now, but in a few years, these types of feelings will start to pass. Growing up is hard, you’re finding out who you are and who you want to be in this world. It feels like it’s all happening at once and that you need to know everything about who you are by the time you finish high school. I promise you that you don’t. It’ll be alright.”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t like my freckles.”
Her mother paused for a moment thinking. “They make you self-conscious right?” her daughter nodded. “Then use them to make you stronger.”
“How?”
“What’s something that you like about them?”
“Mom, come on,” she complained.
“Humor me,” said her mother.
She signed. “Fine. I like that I got them from you.”
“What else?”
She paused having to rack her brain for something else. Finally, it came to her, “They’re kind of fun. All my friends say that they like them and that they suit me.”
“They do. You’re a fun, spunky, wonderful girl, and they do suit you. I think so, the family thinks so, your friends think so. I want you to remember that the next time you start wishing they didn’t exist. Learn to love them, they’re part of you, and they always will be. They’re one of the things that make you, you.”
“Is that what you did? Learn to love them?”
“Yes, it took a while. But I tried to remind myself everytime I wanted them to go away reasons why I loved them. You know who else loved them?” her mother said with a barely hidden smile.
“Who?” her daughter asked suspiciously.
Her mother grinned. “Your father.”
“Eww, Mom,” she squealed and tried to hide behind her covers, where a smile spread across her face even though she willed it not to.
Her mom chuckled. “Well, it’s getting late and we both need to get some sleep.” She stood up and leaned down her place a kiss on her daughter’s freckled forehead. “Goodnight Sweetheart. I love you and your freckles.”
It was her turn to laugh. “Goodnight Mom, I love you too.” Her mother raised a questioning eyebrow. She sighed with fake exasperation, rolling her eyes. “And I love my freckles.”
Her mother smiled and headed out of the room turning off the light on her way. She wasn’t going to admit it anytime soon, but she did feel a little better for saying it.
Hello, everyone!
Hello, everyone!
It was a wonderful experience, though it did have its ups and downs. There were days when I wanted to do anything but write. However, for the most part, I made myself sit down and write a few sentences. More often than not those few sentences would turn into more and I was able to reach my word count goal for the day.
Scribe's Canvas 