My Mother Never

My Mother never

My Mother never learnt to ski. The joy of sliding down a slope, hearing the sound of crisp snow beneath her, feeling the wind on her face, the mix of hot and cold – cosy inside the suit, the iciness where the skin was exposed – were never experienced by my Mother. Nor the joys of après-ski: that warming drink drunk with others who have also spent the day on the slopes. And, of course, she has not experienced the hot tub, the hot bubbling water, sitting on the veranda, enticing her to sink in, her shoulders hunched beneath the surface, that feeling of luxury and decadence.

If my Mother had experienced a skiing holiday her life might have been transformed. She would have grown in confidence, become the woman maybe she could have been. Her working days spent in a Managerial post, directing others in their required tasks. She would come home to a detached house, comfortably furnished in crisp creams. She would have spent weekends dancing and being the Belle of the Ball.

MY MOTHER NEVER LEARNT TO SKI.

If my Mother had learnt to ski, she could have spent her holidays in Cyprus or Tunisia. She would have got suntans and seen sites of great antiquity in Turkey and Greece and Rome. She would have extolled the virtues of travel and how it broadens the mind.

MY MOTHER NEVER LEARNT TO SKI.

If she had, my Mother could have become Chairperson of the local WI: organising others to learn and do good deeds. She would have driven her children to school in a grand car and pottered in her garden. She would have painted pictures or read to the children in the local school.

MY MOTHER NEVER LEARNT TO SKI.

If she had skied she could have glowed and blossomed, a liberated woman with a loving husband. She would have taken her grandchildren to the Alps or maybe the Rockies and watched with pride as they too learnt the joys of flying over the snow. She would smile at the potential she was about to release on the world.

MY MOTHER NEVER LEARNT TO SKI.

MY MOTHER NEVER LEARNT TO SKI.

What a life she has missed. Dancing and travel. A successful career. A leading light of the local community. A Grandmother unleashing her grandchildren on the world.

MY MOTHER NEVER LEARNT TO SKI.