Mothers of Grace I — Looking Left and Right Is for Crossing the Street

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In the fall of second grade, my parents entered me in a beauty contest held at another elementary school in Cheatham County. In preparation for the big night, Mother gathered baby blue tulle onto a satin bodice to create my first evening gown. When time grew close, she curled my hair with the same skinny rubber curlers she used on my hair every Saturday night to give me my Sunday-best Shirley Temple do.

My grandparents entered their youngest daughter Emily in the same contest. Emily, at just eighteen months older than I, was also my youngest aunt and closet playmate and friend.

I don’t know of a more photographed event from my childhood. I’ll share several with you, so you can see the decor of the early sixties. Here we are in my grandparents’ living room.

My aunt Emily is in her pink gown and I in my blue, borrowing her shiny crown for the photo op.
My aunt Emily (on the left) is in her pink gown and I’m in my blue, borrowing her shiny tiara for the photo op.

And here we are at the school.

Aunt Emily and Niece Charlene
Aunt Emily and Niece Charlene

Evidently my mother was behind our Kodak Brownie box camera, because here we are with Daddy, . . .

Daddy with His Only Daughter and His Baby Sister
Daddy with His Only Daughter and His Baby Sister

. . . with Mama Sue, . . .

Mama Sue with Her Baby Girl and Her First Grandchild
Mama Sue with Her Baby Girl and Her First Grandchild

. . . and Daddy Leland.

Daddy Leland with  Grandchild Number One and Child Number Five
Daddy Leland in His Recliner with Grandchild Number One and Child Number Five

I love these pictures. Every one makes me smile.

However, I feel embarrassed, too. Should we be embarrassed at how we felt when we were six years old? If so, I am embarrassed that I remember my childhood feelings about that event. I liked my pretty dress, but I also knew very well at six years old that Emily’s dress was fancier and from Cain-Sloan (the fanciest department store in Nashville) and that mine was simpler and homemade.

My feelings about my homemade dress have changed significantly since 1959. It is now a sentimental keepsake. Mother knew that blue was just the color to go with my eyes. She spent hours on that dress. Look at those little ruffles on my shoulders and the rows and rows of bigger ones around my skirt. Can you imagine gathering those ruffles out of tulle and sewing them in straight lines onto more tulle? Whew! Can you imagine fitting it perfectly and making the length just right on a wiggly six-year-old? Today my cherished blue gown, made by my sweet mother, is in a closet waiting for my granddaughters to wear for dress-up someday.

“Sara got an A on her essay; I never get better than a B.”

“Mama took Sissy to get ice cream after her dentist appointment; she took me to the grocery store with her to do her shopping.”

“Dave took Janie to England for their honeymoon; we went to the mountains.”

“Teresa’s husband gave her an amethyst ring when she gave birth to their baby; mine gave me a bouquet out of the clearance bin at the grocery store.”

“Maggie’s daughter’s crocheted afghan won a blue ribbon at the county fair; my daughter’s houseshoes didn’t even place.”

“Charlotte’s son got a speaking part in the play; my son has to be in the chorus again.”

“Sofia’s daughter made 32 on the ACT; my daughter made a 22.”

“Grace already has ten grandchildren; I’m still waiting for my children to get married.”

If we aren’t careful, we can spend our whole lives looking at others and feeling short-changed. It’s an old problem for us girls.

Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children,
she became jealous of her sister;
and she said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I die.”
Genesis 30:1

Rachel was envious of her sister and wanted her husband Jacob to fix it! Ever want your husband to fix something he is powerless to fix even if he tried?

When we look straight ahead and think about what God has done for us, we know we are loved and blessed beyond anything we could ever deserve. Looking to the left and right is perfect when we cross a street, but it’s when we look right and left at what God is doing in the lives of others that we are tempted to envy.

Let your eyes look directly ahead
And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.
Proverbs 4:25

“Mothers of Grace” may seem like a strange title for this, but just hang in there with me. We’re getting there!

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2 Comments

  1. I don’t know if you did this on purpose, Charlene, but throughout this post, I never knew which child was which. The pics were black and white, so I didn’t see pink or blue. Both dresses looked equally beautiful, and I couldn’t tell which was storebought and which was handmade. Both girls were absolute beauty contest princesses. And that, after all, is as it should be.:-)

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