For most of her life she was single. Babysat me a lot when I was little. Really wonderful woman, living, sweet, indulgent of my whims and my various “play pretend” games.
Last time I saw her was several years later, after we’d moved away and had gone back for a brief visit. And she’d actually found someone! At long last, in her 60s, I think, she’d finally found someone, fallen in live, and got married.
And her whole appearance had changed in the process. Gone was the matron look. Where she never wore makeup, dressed in drab utilitarian clothing, her hair in a tight, severe presentation with a hair net, and those black utilitarian shoes like what the nuns wore.
No more of that! She’d transformed into a pretty woman-of-a-certain-age, dressed in more flattering, colorful, and feminine styles, wore some makeup, and her hair was looser, more softly arranged around her face. She was prettier - and her appearance had become something she cared about more than before. She’d gained some weight, and her whole look was softer and more approachable. Her demeanor was different, too - softer, and even a wee bit coquettish. There was a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye that hadn’t been there before.
I was still pretty young then but I immediately noticed a difference. Like a drab unremarkable caterpillar that had turned into a glorious butterfly.
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