i debated on posting this shot or not. when i was younger, my hands were my vanity - long slender fingers, just like my fathers. I wore small rings and worn several as my fingers could accommodate them. i wore 'the nails' and french manicures - the works. until one day, it was just all too much for me. the rings were a bother, they got in my way with work - i took off my wedding ring - it all seemed to gradually happen.then, i took this picture and wondered....how did my mother's hands get on my body? *chuckle* just for the record - this will be the last time you see my hands. you see, i can't figure out how i got 'old lady hands' when i feel so young. i can't figure how why i need 2.0 readers when i can see so far. i can't for the life of me figure out why i'm so damn tired all the time. how did this young woman get trapped in this body?
i officially call no fair.
i like this shot. :-)
ReplyDeletefirst of all, i love this photo. but even moreso, your words. this is beautifully written. it made me smile, but also tugged at my heart while I said, yep, i feel that way.
ReplyDeletewhoa...I thought I was the only one with this issue...so because of that, you just totally cracked me up !!
ReplyDeleteand you know what....these hands of ours along with our bodies, still get us through the days, laughing and taking pictures...so I think we're pretty damn okay just the way we are....
ps...love the shot !
Loving this shot... I call no fair too. When did I become so much like my mother? In someways it's wonderful...and others, not so much. The aging process is not always pretty (thank god for photoshop...lol).
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photograph. Maybe shedding the nails and jewels was part of finding your true vision of yourself. Or sharing that vision. I like the focus here, almost like a clear self-portrait.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great shot char - and your hands certainly don't look old in my opinion! They look absolutely normal, lovely - so don't fuss :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with those hands? They look beautiful to me.
ReplyDeletehello gorgeous!
ReplyDeletei gently say- none of it matters, my dear, sweet, friend... you are holding a canon, and that is sheer beauty. ; )
xo
oh.yes.i.know.veins.and.all...i'm with Christina...look at that sleek camera (((hugs)))
ReplyDeleteMay I join your no fair train? When I was little my Mom would tell me not to frown so much. Now I know why....I've got the lines to show for it. Ah ha
ReplyDeletemy hands have never been ready for their close-up. I've always been self-conscious of my old lady looking hands. though apparently, all those lines on the other side are a palm readers dream.
ReplyDeleteholding something amazing is good distraction technique.
I hear you sister! I have been writing about that alot as well. I go along my merry, happy, exuberant way until all of sudden I catch a random reflection in a store window of someone who vaguely resembles the imgage I have of myself ... yikes! On the upside, like you, I find I am taking on more and more of my mom's aging traits. I love that my wrinkled old hands look like my mom's and that I have her little lines around my eyes. I wear those like badges of honour. You should too! : )
ReplyDeleteI see my grandma's hands in my hands...which scares me but I have a special fondness for hands and the seemingly infinite things they can do.
ReplyDeleteThis photo is so lovely and before I even read the story, I thought, oh what beautiful hands.
ReplyDeleteAt least you have finger nails on those lovely hands.
I have short nails that are chewed half the time, but the plus sides are I can type like secretary on speed, I can make the bed without any serious injury and I never get paint under my finger nails.
Always look at the positives. Long and slender are very attractive, but I would happily have you on the short side with me. We will always find gloves that fit and re can retrieve things from small spaces. Yes!
Beautiful photo and such touching words. Lovely.
ReplyDeletehmmm...I do not see the old lady hands you are speaking of. Nice shot. I like the pp too.
ReplyDeleteOh how I know first "hand", no pun intended, how you feel. I see my own mama in my mirror, in my hands, in lots of things about me. I have a young spirit locked inside this body that keeps aging and doing weird things, but I refuse to go along with it. The reality of it all is that it is draging my innner self along with it although my heels are dug fast into the ground!
ReplyDeleteMay we never give in!! Hear hear!!
Seriously...some of the changes (rings, nails, etc.) we make are due to rethinking our priorities as we age. And alls good!
no old lady hands there!!
ReplyDeletevery cool shot too :)
xo Laura
www.brightboldbeautiful.blogspot.com
I'm growing a beard. If that helps.
ReplyDeletep.s. slick camera. :)
LOVE this picture!!!!
ReplyDeletechar, you made me think of myself, bought readers today325, lord have mercy. char I Won't be around to do the theme, I Will have no access to the computer. you are beautiful to me. take care, back around the12 of oct.
ReplyDeleteJust wait till the day comes when you look down and see your grandmother's papery skin....
ReplyDeleteYour hands show wisdom, and life, and hold in them all the wonderful things you have created, all the babies you have held, your totally fantastic photography....Your hands are a treasure. And I am getting my Mum's hands too.
ReplyDeletei like this post VERY much...i think you have a GREAT sense of humor and you write it well..thanks for sharing char
ReplyDeleteIt's why I don't wear rings much. My hands used to be my vanity as well, but lots of years of scrubbing, cooking, wringing (in anxiousness) have wrought them worn and tired, but well used. Well used like yours, dear Char, with your beautiful picture-taking and your always inspiring and insightful writings. Be proud of those hands!
ReplyDeleteI never see my hands as anything more that tools but lately when cutting photography matt boards, they tend to clamp up and cripple me in pain. OMG I have the start of Arthritis and I'm not even 40!
ReplyDeleteYour hands look lovely to me, embrace them.
I know totally how you feel. I did a post some time ago about my hands. Found an old picture of my little girl hands and compared to my now hands....very scary I must say.
ReplyDeletehe he. We women find that our hands tell more about us than our faces...so that's why I hide mine. Glad to see yours come out of hiding.
ReplyDeleteI love how you feel and speak the truth,I think it a lot...especially when I drive and am holding on the the steering wheel...I wonder HOW my hands have aged SO quickly.
ReplyDeleteThen I remember ... oh yes, I'm not in my 20's anymore...and am half way through my 30's...but then feel so young still.
GREAT shot Char!
Hugs are flying ur way.
Char.x.
amazing shot and amazing pics you have all over yor blog...going to visit you on flickr.glad i found you...
ReplyDeleteyou can come visit me sometime at
http://urbaniche.blogspot.com/
the ONLY thing that hasn't changed on my body IS my hands. at the same time i have these tiny little hands (4 1/2 ring finger still) and this huge body, i look like a freak.
ReplyDeleteoh my dog...
ReplyDeleteI have so been going throug this, too! And lately when I hear myself laugh, or say certain phrases... I have the sudden realization that my mother has truly been reincarnated into my body!!
great post!! your hands are not bad!!
lol!
Too funny. Don't give up on those hands. I didn't even notice them. I just think the entire shot is great!
ReplyDeleteThanks -
ann
LOL...i have to agree! i feel the same way! let's all band together and call a "no fair"!!! i love this pic, though....it immediately caught my attention! i think it's perfect....in every way ;o)
ReplyDeletelove + luck + bliss,
missysue xox
no fair is right!
ReplyDeletei've never had a flat stomach, and it is just getting worse and worse. bleh.
Nothing makes me prouder than to know I have my mom's hands.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shot, tender words.
So glad you've made it your profile picture...! And since it sounds like you were very close to your mom, I would have to agree with Sandi above, dear.
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful day.
-maria
Oh Char, this made me laugh right out loud! I too have realized that slowly but surely I am turning into my mother too!! My hands, my neck, my butt . . . I'm my mom all over. And I don't even know when it happened.
ReplyDeleteOh so funny, I too discovered one day that I not only had my mum's hands, but her neck and her eyelids. Soft and crepey. No more luscious eye shadow for me. It's i the genes I guess. I like the photo though.
ReplyDeleteI love the look of "used" hands...and they photograph beautifully...I even like my very used hands...I just wish I could still wear the ruby ring Mr O gave me...(must get it resized!) ...
ReplyDelete...on the other hand....I DON'T like that swinging flab under my upper arms...that just popped up one day...I used to have gorgeous upper arms and now I don't want to wear sleeveless dresses....
Those lovely hands work and do so many things for you. I can't tell you how many times I've found myself marching up a hill and feeling incredibly thankful for the body that allows me to do so. All of that being said, I find the topic of aging very interesting and I've thought a lot about it. All I want to do is appreciate all I've been able to accomplish in the years I've been here on this earth, the fact that I'm alive at all, all of the wisdom I've gained through my experiences...but then I'll notice a single grey hair peeking out from behind my "younger" locks and I'll feel quite disgruntled about this whole getting older thing. It's like, hey, I'm not ready for that yet. Then I'll remember that this getting older thing is sure better than the alternative.
ReplyDeleteI came to your blog today via a comment you left on Whistlestop Cafe Cooking.
ReplyDeleteBeing nosy I've scrolled down, liking both your pictures and words, and this post is so me. I don't know how it happened either.
Oh, Char. Your hands are lovely. Let's plan to grow beatiful old. Together.
ReplyDelete