THE DARK-PINK LIPS ON MY WRIST

July 03, 2020

“All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy.

No man does. That is his.”

Oscar Wilde

On my left wrist, there is a dark-pink birth-mark. That looks like as though a woman has left it there with her sweet lips. Whenever people notice it and ask, some touching it gently – “What is this?”, I tell them, “My Mom’s kiss!”

So, when Oscar Wilde said, “No man does,” he, perhaps, hadn’t seen these pink lips on my wrist… Thank God, I am spared from the tragedy!

We were five brothers; and I was the second son of my Dad and Mom. When there are no daughters at home, one of the sons is bound to be treated as a girl of the house. I don’t feel like a ‘sissy’ when I claim, “I was the girl of my parents!”. On the contrary, I feel like a real ‘man’!

With that dark-pink birth-mark, I seem to have inherited some of my Mom’s characteristics…

Mom was hard-working… So am I.

Mom was hyper-sensitive… So am I.

Mom was compassionate… So am I.

Mom was simple… So am I.

Mom was very accommodating… So am I.

Mom was a good organizer… So am I.

Mom always ate last… So do I.

Mom believed in prayers… So do I.

Mom always chose to overlook others’ flaws… So do I.

Mom was aware of her surroundings… So am I.

Mom was a good storyteller… So am I.

Mom was shy… So am I.

Mom didn’t hoard money… So do I.

Mom was anxious… So am I.

This was the direct outcome of having no daughters at home. Mom would, often, share her troubles and worries with me. As I just said, a large part of my hyper-sensitivity, compassion and, even anxiety, has come from this legacy from mom… My four brothers will definitely agree when I say this. Mom has loved and raised all of us alike… She has wished – and still wishes – well to all of us alike… She is proud of all her five sons alike… But, she has left her dark-pink lip-marks only on her second son’s wrist. Therefore, that’s my fortune, unlike what Oscar Wilde had generalized about men!

Today, my Mom completes 85 years… At times, she complains about her knees. She has been on her knees for years and years for her sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. Knees have worn out, true. But, no other complaints… God has been kind to her, kind to all of us. Like all mothers, she, too, thinks her sons are still her li’l kids… and why she wouldn’t? After all, as T. DeWitt Talmage said: “She is our mother – the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries!”