My Father's Nose

Previously posted 2017

**An excerpt from a work in progress**

I was born into this world with my Father's nose and his ears;  fine looking on the face of a grown man, but each, a tad too big for the face of a little girl.

I never had ponytails or pigtails as a child.  One of my relatives told me, when I was a child, that my mother used to tape my ears back.  Mom was furious that I was told, but on the other hand, she would daily squeeze my nose when she walked by me.  I used to think it was a squeeze of endearment, until I got older and asked her to stop and she told me that I should squeeze my own nose to keep it from getting bigger.

Li'l Nancy

I learned at a very young age that I did not enter this world as a beautiful child.

When I was around 11, I took to wearing headbands.  I do not believe this was my idea, but I ended up liking them.  They kept my ears close to my head and I felt safe from taunts about my ears.  I don't even know if anyone else was aware that my ears were too big for my head.

The Headband Years.

When I hit my early teens, cruelty abounded.  Two boys from my neighborhood took my same walking route home everyday and they taunted me with "Danny Thomas", "The Nose" and other hurtful words.  I  cried most days.  My mother tried to get it to stop; she called the school; she called the parents, but nothing stopped it. I had to learn to suck it up and to understand that my worth did not depend on the size of my ears or nose.  

But I wanted to be pretty!

It never seriously occurred to me to have rhinoplasty, even when others around me were doing it.  I have a wickedly deviated septum, so the excuse to do it was there and probably also would have been covered by medical insurance.  But, voluntary pain was never an option for me. (except childbirth).

To this day, when I look at a photograph of myself, I see a woman of a certain age with silver hair.  And, I see my Dad.  I smile.