The Mole: A Mother’s Day Tribute

May 8, 2016


I have a mole. On my face. By the side of my right eye, to be exact, a’la Cindy Crawford. Except in North Dakota, when I was five years old, Cindy Crawford wasn’t a household name (Hell, was she even born yet?), and even if she had been, my five-year old butt wouldn’t have given a rip.

I hated the mole.

Hated it.

Mama called it a “beauty mark,” but I wasn’t buying it. She even showed me pictures of Elizabeth Taylor, ‘the most beautiful woman in the world,’ who sometimes made a small kohl-black mark by one violet eye,  just to draw attention.

“Hmph.”  I thought Elizabeth Taylor must be some kind of weirdo, marking her pretty face up on purpose.  Who wanted little black bits on her face?

Flawed. My face was flawed. Every time I looked in the mirror, the mole mocked me.  I’d study my reflection, place my index finger over the mole, trying to imagine my face without it.

“I hate this thing!” I’d complain to my mother, and she’d smooth my hair and coo in my ear that I was a lovely girl, and suggest that maybe it was time to quit hanging out in the bathroom so much. Usually she sent me outside, to do my sulking in fresh air.

One winter evening, as I watched Mama take off her makeup (for some reason, the cornucopia of lotions and potions–the ritual of it all–fascinated me) I was overcome with envy. As I looked at her beautiful skin, wide blue eyes and perfect nose, I couldn’t help but find my own countenance lacking.

“Argh! I hatethismoleIhatethismoleIhatethismole!!!!!!”

Playfully, Mama tapped me under the chin and looked at me with mock seriousness.

“Sweetheart, do you really hate that mole so much?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, fine then. I’ll make it go away.”  She proceeded to place her hand over the mole, massage the skin, and chant, “Abracadabra, bobbity-boo, when I count to ten, this mole will shoo!”

She lifted her hand and I, nearly breathless, said “ohhhhhh!”  I gasped in awe, and looked in the mirror, fully believing that the mole would be gone.

My mother didn’t get the laugh she expected.

Devastated, furious, betrayed, I fled from the room in tears. I shut my bedroom door and sobbed. And then, in typical fashion, I proceeded to pout for 2 hours.

After a good few hours of sulking, Mama knocked on my door.

“Can I come in?”

“Hmph.”

She sat on my bed and stroked my back lightly. “Sweetheart, I am so sorry. I had no idea that you actually believed I could make that mole disappear.  I’m so sorry you are upset; I shouldn’t have tried to joke with you.”

Sniffle. “Of course I thought you could make it go away. You’re my mommy. You can do everything.”

“Oh, baby. Mommies can do a lot, but they can’t do magic.”

“Well, I thought you could!”  Scowl.

“I know. I know that now.”  She lay down on the bed and snuggled me tight. I could smell her Evanescence night cream, the one that came in the mysterious black bottle. “Forgive me?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“We all have things about us that we wish we could change, but darling, you are a lovely girl. One tiny little mole isn’t going to take that away from you.”

I didn’t believe her at the time; I was too close to sleep, too overwhelmed by the idea that my mother–the mother that fixed the world and made everything right–couldn’t perform magic.

Turns out, Mama was wrong. She could perform magic. All mothers can.  She may not have been able to make the mole vanish in to thin air, but no matter. The magic she made was made of finer stuff.

Happy Mother’s Day, to all of you beautiful mothers out there. You perform magic every day.

{ 51 comments… read them below or add one }

jacki May 8, 2011 at 12:16 pm

What a sweet and wonderful post. Thanks for that. I hope my daughter believes I can perform magic someday.

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Rudri Bhatt Patel @ Being Rudri May 8, 2011 at 12:23 pm

Kitch, I can imagine your mom reading this post and smiling the whole time. Happy Mother’s Day to the both of you!

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Phoo-d May 8, 2011 at 12:58 pm

Mothers can perform all kinds of magic indeed! Happy Mother’s Day! =)

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manisha May 8, 2011 at 1:16 pm

Just as you do magic every day! Happy Mother’s Day to you, sweetie!

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jc May 8, 2011 at 1:24 pm

Happy Mother’s Day Witch!

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Yuliya May 8, 2011 at 1:35 pm

Your mother is stunning, and I know you are too, beauty mark or not. Happy Mother’s Day!

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Abby May 8, 2011 at 2:22 pm

I love this post.
This isn’t me pimping myself out at all, but I wrote a similar post a couple months ago about my nose. I hated it, but learned to love it as a piece of me. I’m not thrilled, but
I was convinced it made me special ;)
http://abbyhasissues.com/2011/01/26/yes-im-nosy/

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TKW May 9, 2011 at 6:44 am

Abby,

You know what’s weird. As I’ve aged, the mole has faded into almost nothing. And now I kind of miss it. God, I’m strange.

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Heather of the EO May 8, 2011 at 3:31 pm

This is so beautiful. As are YOU. Your mother is right you know :)

Happy Mother’s Day, my friend.

xoxo

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C @ Kid Things May 8, 2011 at 3:35 pm

This was a lovely tribute.

I have a mole, too. Under my mouth on the right side. My mother also called it a beauty mark. Her magic was that I actually believed that for a time. She made me believe that I was so beautiful they had to mark me. More and more now, though, I just wish it would go away.

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Cheryl @ Mommypants May 8, 2011 at 4:56 pm

I loved this. So wonderful, when children still believe that about their mommies.

I have a mole, a la Cindy Crawford. If I could trade it for, you know, her ass or her legs, I’d prefer it, but what can you do?

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TKW May 9, 2011 at 6:43 am

Cheryl, you crack me up. I want her hair. Okay, and maybe her ass.

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lifeintheboomerlane May 8, 2011 at 5:04 pm

Beautiful. Yes, mothers can, indeed, do magic. Happy Mothers Day.

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Ink May 8, 2011 at 6:06 pm

*wiping away tears*

Happy Mother’s Day, with hugs.

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annabelle May 8, 2011 at 6:16 pm

Oh I am so glad you guest posted for KLZ.

I love this post.

HMD

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Paula (Salad in a Jar) May 8, 2011 at 6:22 pm

Love this. Your mom is gorgeous–looks a lot like you. And I never noticed your mole–really. I noticed you were friendly, invited me to lunch and seemed like lots of fun. :-)

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TKW May 9, 2011 at 6:45 am

And that’s why I love you, Paula!

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Katybeth May 8, 2011 at 6:50 pm

Happy Mothers Day. How does it feel to have inherited the magic?

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Heather May 8, 2011 at 7:02 pm

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. Happy day to you too my dear.

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Nicole May 8, 2011 at 7:59 pm

My magic works the other way, unfortunately. My child wakes up with loose teeth and fat lips, blood all over his pillow and I have to explain how it got there. (A seizure face-first on a rock will do that to you.) I wish I could to magic so much that your post made me cry. If only we had that power!

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TKW May 9, 2011 at 6:48 am

Nicole,
I’ve seen your mama skills in action. They’re amazing. And magic. Your specific kind of magic is patience and quiet strength. Your boys know that you will always be there for them. xoxo

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ayala May 8, 2011 at 8:27 pm

Kitch, this is great. I hope you and your mom had a great Mother’s Day. My prayers sent your way. The magic of mothers is amazing.

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SuziCate May 9, 2011 at 6:03 am

What a lovely tribute. It appears you have inherited the “mother magic” from you mom.

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Pam May 9, 2011 at 6:21 am

What a sweet and touching story! That’s a great pic of the two of you! I just had a couple of moles on my neck frozen off by the doctor last week and one on my face a year ago. It’s great!

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Jennifer May 9, 2011 at 7:12 am

Moms are the best. I hope yours is doing well.

And you look a whole, whole lot like her.

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Jane May 9, 2011 at 7:23 am

Awwww! This just tugs, tugs, tugs at my little heartstrings. Such a beautiful moment and memory. And then, a beautiful tribute to an amazing woman. You come by your own awesomeness so easily with a mom like her! xoxoxoxo

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Yvette May 9, 2011 at 8:54 am

That was a wonderful story! LOVED it! Our moms are so special and it’s a great reminder that now WE have been blessed with the same magic!

Hope you had a wonderful Mother’s Day!

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Jenna May 9, 2011 at 9:23 am

I LOVED this post!! And that picture–the look of adoration you’re giving your beautiful mother is amazing.

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Barbara May 9, 2011 at 12:48 pm

What a gorgeous Mom!
Mine taught me how to get rid of warts. Rub it with raw meat and bury it deep. As the meat rots, so will the wart. It works. I used it with my kids too.
(Don’t think it works with moles though. :( )
Hope you had a magical day, sweetie!

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TKW May 9, 2011 at 4:29 pm

Barbara,

The cure almost sounds worse than the wart!

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Mary Lee May 9, 2011 at 4:05 pm

When I was really young, one of the cosmetic companies used an aging silent screen actress in their Good Housekeeping advertisements: Gloria Swanson. Silent movies were waaaaay before me and your mother (I emphasize hastily!) but I thought she was beautiful and I was fascinated with the “beauty mark” on her chin. I never thought for a minute it was a mole.

I had warts. Nothing sexy about a wart.

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TKW May 9, 2011 at 4:54 pm

Gloria Swanson? Isn’t she the one who said, “I’m ready for my close-up?”

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Maria May 9, 2011 at 6:18 pm

Beautifully written. Beautiful picture…tears as I remember thinking my mother could do magic too, and to wishing I could do it for my boys…

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camilla May 9, 2011 at 11:12 pm

Happy Mother’s Day!
I wished mum could make my freckles go away too. She just showed me how to rub lemons on them to make them fade (no, it didn’t work but I loved that she tried)

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Linda at Bar Mitzvahzilla May 10, 2011 at 12:55 am

Aw, TKW, you have a way with words! Thanks for this lovely tribute the your magical mother!

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Christine @ Coffees & Commutes May 10, 2011 at 4:38 am

Sigh. Love this. As I always do. Happy belated Mother’s Day to you my friend. I hope it had a little bit of magic, much as you weaved in this post.

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Belinda May 10, 2011 at 9:47 am

I love this. And even as a grown woman, I still believe that mom can perform magic. What a blessed burden it is to carry, isn’t it? And yet here we are, using all the tricks we learn to make almost anything happen.

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Tiffany May 10, 2011 at 10:11 am

What a wonderful tribute. Your Mom is beautiful. Just like you!

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velva May 10, 2011 at 7:42 pm

Yes, Happy Mother’s Day to all of those gorgeous, spectacular and wonderful women.

Velva

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Nancy C May 11, 2011 at 3:55 am

She gave the magic words to you.

This is simply lovely.

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jessica May 11, 2011 at 6:00 am

I had two moles under my left eye and my mother called the beauty marks too. Unlike you, I believed her when she said that they made me special – I loved them. When I was 21 the lower one became precancerous and a dermatologist hacked it off my face and tossed it away – very traumatic.

Even more traumatic, when he was done he said that he put the stitches right where I would eventually have crows feet…and now almost 13 years later I am sad to say he was right about those wrinkles!

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Cathy May 24, 2011 at 8:58 pm

I’m breezing through my 500+ posts in my reader and was struck by the photo. You have such complete adoration on your face. That picture is priceless.

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elizabeth May 8, 2016 at 6:29 pm

This is the most excellent and eloquent tribute I’ve seen on Mother’s Day, and I just want to give you all the hugs and make a big plate of starchy carbs for you because you absolutely deserve some right now. You’re in my thoughts more often than not, and I hope your weekend was as much as a respite as it promised to be. (I saw the screen grab on FB and you looked AMAH-ZING!)

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Sherri June 1, 2016 at 3:31 am

This is so poignant. Tears – but good ones. I hope my kids have stories like these someday.

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