Short Story

WOUNDS REVISITED

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬
© Ayr/Gray

It was December 17, 1997 – one mere week after the birth of our first baby. This was to be a special time alone for Stephen and me; Christmas as a new little family.

Stephen set up the tree and brought down from the attic the decorations I collected over the years – heirloom pieces lovingly given to me by his mother. Inside the large box sat a smaller box; cradled inside was a treasured ornament belonging to Stephen’s great-grandmother, a delicate crystal snow globe passed from one generation to another.

The sudden, unexpected knock on the door quickly jarred our tranquil mood. On the threshold stood my parents, suitcases in hand. My heart sank. Perhaps it was wrong of me but I loved my husband’s mother more than my own.

Stephen showed my parents in and the dynamic in the room instantly changed.

My mother had the ineffable ability of showing up at the worst time – always unannounced, uninvited and unwelcome. I’ve often wondered if she knew how I felt about her surprise visits and didn’t care. Every event, momentous or ordinary, had to be about her.

Mother’s greetings were interwoven with recriminations about it being mid-morning and I was still in my nightgown. Then she swooped in, taking my sleeping son from my arms; disturbed, he wailed pathetically.

Turning abruptly to show my father his screaming grandson, the hem of mother’s coat swept against my cherished ornament, sending it flying.

It shattered; the jagged shards tore into my wintry heart.

NAR © 2023

The Unicorn Challenge-08/09/23

29 thoughts on “WOUNDS REVISITED”

  3. Surely the best definition of skilled storytelling is: presenting engaging characters in situations of actual/potential conflict that cause the Reader to resonate emotionally with the narrative.
    Not so much that it matches one’s own life experience as it is the identification with one (or more) facets and the creation of a link ‘tween Reader and Writer that makes an effective story.
    Well done. yo

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  4. A lament that’s familiar to many of us and the type of insensitive invasion often visited on new parents when people somehow think the babe is a new form of pass-the-parcel. Doesn’t reflect my mother but absolutely reeks of my old man. 😉

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    1. As time goes by and I talk to more people about their childhoods, I’ve learned most men have fond memories and loving thoughts about their mothers. Many women, on the other hand, suffered through strained and dysfunctional relationships with their mothers, pledging never to behave as they did. It’s far more common and upsetting than people realize.

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  5. Raw and honest, a powerful piece, Nancy, that will resonate with many.
    In my case not my mother, but there is all too often one about whom very event, momentous or ordinary, has to be about.

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  6. ‘The jagged sgards tore into my wintry heart’ – says it all.
    So many layers to this, Nancy.
    The new little family dynamic that wanted to consolidate itself.
    The mother/daughter tensions and that tell-tale phrase: I loved my husband’s mother more than my own’.
    Christmas, the time when families are required to be together and to be happy.
    So sad and so sensitively told.

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    1. “Christmas, the time when families are *required* to be together”.
      This is how I know you get the message loud and clear.
      Thanks, Jenne, for your always gracious comments and for providing us with intriguing photos week after week.

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