Daddy's Christmas Angel

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Apologies to My Mother

In the middle of last night, I realized I owe my mother an apology. I misquoted her in my last blog and some of you probably realized it. What she actually said was, "You can't tell a book by its cover."

She, of course, was giving me a life lesson about not judging people by the way they look or dress. She always told me what a person was like under their facade was what really mattered. That may be a good lesson about characterization in our stories, as well.

These days my mother might have a hard time knowing anything about people by looking at how they dress. She would probably just shake her head because everything is becoming more and more casual. Up until the last couple of years, people at our church dressed up to attend services and all the men wore suits and ties. Now you see everything at church services including shorts and blue jeans. The new trend appears to have improved church attendance which is a good thing. However, I suspect my mother would be shocked by the change.

Yesterday was Christmas Marketplace day at Tides Inn, a beautiful little historic hotel located on the Chesapeake Bay and the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers. It was fun to be one of the artists and writers invited to participate in this annual event. And, of course, I love being with creative people. As I looked around the spacious room where each of us had wide tables with linen cloths provided for our setups, I realized how true it is that you can't tell a book by its cover. Many of the artists wore jeans or other casual clothing while others were dressed up quite a bit.

All of this has me thinking that life lessons aren't as simple these days as they once were. But it's fun to learn some of them at the Tides Inn.
"Tides Inn - Reflected Waters" MM Sikes photo

3 comments:

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Tides Inn sounds like a lovely place to learn. However, dressing for occasions can be daunting at times. As you say old standards don't apply and I never know what to wear to be neither over or under dressed.

Anonymous said...

Better to be a bit overdressed. I never know what to wear. Good thing I have wifey to help dress me. I'd hate to think what I would be like if I didn't have her.

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Mary, from my observations, on most occasions people wear a wide range of outfits. Very formal occasions may be different, but everyone seems to be more casual now.

Stephen, you are fortunate to have a wife to take care of those details!

Thanks for your comments!