( Cut for size, not filtered. )That's Mum, Dad and a very tiny me. I know that some of you have been pulled in from other worlds and other times without a touchstone to call your own (and I am very lucky in that it's my world, just not precisely my time) ... so I wanted to share this one with you. And if, by chance, you would like to share some of your own family photos or memories please feel free to do so.
The one thing -- perhaps the only thing -- that will free us and bind us in the coming months is a firm belief that together, our hearts and wills cannot be shaken. And I think we have to know one another, first.
So Mum -- her name was Clarissa. Most people in this day and time would call her severe. She had a real understanding of the way things ought to be run and fought tooth and nail to ensure that they were perfect. When I was a little girl, I can remember crying when she'd actually come down to plait my hair herself because the parts were always so tight and straight. But I think Mum saw a lot of herself in me and knew that the world had to change to catch up with our generation.
Dad -- his name was Johnathan. Dad was my ally, my bulwark and my strength. When I was a little girl, I suppose it's of no great surprise that I spent a great deal of my time with muddy stockings up trees, in barns or secreted away in some glen. He fed that desire, he allowed it to blossom. It was Dad that taught me to ride and jump (though it was Mum who won prizes for it). He died at the Somme. Mum regularly tried to contact him via supernatural media but it seemed that he was having none of her shite on that matter.
I had a very rowdy childhood and my young womanhood was characterised by inherent rebellion. But if I were to be honest with you, I'm quite sure a lot of it wasn't much more than just a vocal challenge to make me more apt to succeed. See, Mum could have turned me out at any time but she didn't. And I'm glad for her. I'm glad that she challenged me, instilled an independent heart in me and made me who I am just as much as my father's love did too.
And yes, I had
very chubby cheeks.
(What about you?)