The Karen Files, pt. 11

Another in an ongoing series of posts celebrating the life of our mother:

It’s kind of intriguing, as one rifles through old photos of a loved one, especially a parent, to see that person slowly but surely become the person you remember.

We’ve not presented the photos of Karen that we’ve shared with you in any chronological order, but if you go back through the previous ten editions of The Karen Files, you’ll see what we mean, even if you never met her.


Hi-res view

There’s a hint of the Mom we recall from our childhood and adolescence in this photo, though she’s not quite there yet. Perhaps, if we were to put this into anthropological terms, this photo might be called the “missing link” between Karen as a youth (she was only 21 when she got married, 22 when she gave birth to our older brother, and 25 when we came along) and her years as a settled-in (but never staid) wife and mother.

We love the red lipstick Mom’s wearing here and the casually saucy flair she’s exhibiting, with that great 1950s blouse she’s sporting and the plaid pants. (What do you want to bet they were Capri pants?)

This picture was probably taken in the late 1950s, but the precise year is uncertain. We think it must be the house our family lived in until 1964, and that’s probably my parents’ bedroom, which was in the southeast corner of the house (none of this is of even remote interest, dear reader, but we’re just stretching our memory muscles here).

Anyway, there’s a confidence in this picture that sets it apart from some of the others we’ve shown you. Mom never lost her sweet and gentle side, but she was a strong woman, too, and you can see that quality starting to show in this picture.

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