Gems

Happy laughters are heard from Adam’s room. The 2-year old boy has found his mother’s mirror and is playing around with his own face. He sticks his tongue out, stares as a madman, and blows his cheeks up like a toad. His creative ability surprises and entertains him.

~~~~~~

Brigitte has applied primer, concealer, foundation, and bronzer to her 16-year old face, but still isn’t happy. With a lipstick in her hand, she lets out a desperate sigh, “I wish I had lips like Angelina Jolie.” A few minutes later, while working with an eye-liner pencil, she groans, “Why can’t I have eyes like Penelope Cruz?”

~~~~~~

As he gets up from the chest press machine, Peter glances at the gym’s mirror-covered wall. His arms, shoulders, and abdomen have changed a lot since he started working out four years ago. As he turns his head, he sees a couple of younger bodybuilders, with substantially bigger muscles. “I should have started earlier,” he grumbles. “26 was too late. At this age, it’s difficult to get a perfect body. Maybe I should try steroids?”

~~~~~~

Turning from side to side, Patricia is examining her image in a floor-to-ceiling mirror. A few minutes ago, her bathroom scale disappointed her, and now, it appears that her old mirror-friend has become a traitor. “Am I getting fat?” she worries. “How do I look from behind? Should I go on a diet? Gosh, I’m over 50! My daughter is 21! In a few years, I could be a grandmother! Do I look like a grandmother?” 

~~~~~~

On the way out from his bathroom, 83-year old Christopher catches his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He stops and leans forward. Looking past a plethora of wrinkles, he focuses on his eyes. A thought enters his mind, and smilingly he goes to his wife. “Honey,” he says, “they say that the eyes are the windows of the soul. Let me take a peak behind your curtains.” Their eyes meet, and he continues, “I think it’s true! Souls don’t age and your eyes look as beautiful as the day we met!”

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Margarida Brei
Margarida Brei(@margarida-brei)
1 month ago

So many people look in the mirror and are deeply disappointed by what they see. So glad that the elderly gentleman at least finds beauty in his wife.

Julie Harris
Julie Harris(@julie-harris)
1 month ago

I love this story, Christer. In the last year or so of my Dad’s life, he and I would send each other pictures we liked from the Internet. Our absolute favorites were babies and toddlers joyfully playing with their reflections, exactly as you described Adam. For a moment, your story brought my Dad back to me. Like Margarida, I’m so glad that Christopher found beauty in his aged wife. He was, in… Read more »

Carrie OLeary
Carrie OLeary(@carrie-oleary)
1 month ago

Great story, Christer, that perfectly reflects (see what I did there 😜) how each person beholds their own reflection. Lets hope we all maintain the innocence of young Adam or the wiseness of Christopher as we look at our own reflections.

Linda Rock
Linda Rock(@linda-rock)
1 month ago

I love how your 2-year-old cares not a jot how he looks, Christer, just having fun with his expressions. How sad but true that as we age, our looks become so important that we torment ourselves over them. Until, as with your 83-year-old, we learn to appreciate what really matters. A really lovely story, well told.

Deborah Goulding
Deborah Goulding(@deborah-goulding)
1 month ago

This story rings true on so many levels. I, as well have difficulty viewing my aging physique. Wonderful how the elder looks beyond outward appearance. He see the person as who they are, and not what they look like.

Lotchie Carmelo
Lotchie Carmelo(@lotchie-carmelo)
20 days ago

Another awesome story, Christer. Your story reflects different dimensions of life. But I really like the perspective of young Adam. He doesn’t care about how he looks. He’s just enjoying and having fun. It’s fun to be a child. And 83-year-old Christopher reflects on how life changes over time. His perspective is wise and full of contentment. It’s also nice to grow old with a meaningful life and have done something good… Read more »

Last edited 20 days ago by Lotchie Carmelo

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