Who Was That Masked Woman?

Yesterday I saw my mother in church; we were sitting about 10 rows back from her when I spotted her grey hair up towards the front. She was wearing a short black sweater with a mandarin-style collar, and a single red and white flower pattern sewn on the back. It was quite typical of her, actually. She's always had a great sense of style.

As I watched her, she reached back and fixed her hair. This, too, is something that has been typical of her for as many years as I can remember. For some reason, she's always been concerned that her hair will be, "flat" in one spot. So she combs it out with her fingers, pulling it this way and that, finishing with a pat before going back to her songbook.

My mother has an interesting build. It's the type of build I wish I had, and probably would have, if I lost ... Oh, I don't know, a gazillion pounds. She has square shoulders, like those on a sewing dummy (what are those things called?); but her waist and hips are very narrow. Consequently, she can never buy a suit, "off the rack". She can buy some tops, but prefers to sew most of her pants herself. She's a size 8 on top because of her shoulders, although she's very thin, and about a 4-6 on the bottom.

I need to talk to my mother. There are so many things wrong, and day after day I feel like the only person in my life who can, or could, help me is my mother. She KNOWS .... understands. There's that knack for seeing inside me and getting to the heart of the problem, even if it's not exactly what I want to hear. But at least it's something tangible and useful, and ALWAYS done with love.

The only problem? My mother has been dead for 16 years.