11.23.08 - 84/365

i am getting things ready for thanksgiving
getting the guest room ready for my mom to come
even though she hasn't seen the house finished
things are going to be VERY familiar for her;
she'll be sleeping in the bed and using the dresser from the house she just moved out of

i have the figure below
that she made maybe 45 years ago
so i put it on the mantle piece
and something about it struck me as being so similar
to some of the self portraits i've taken
(but not posted)
lately

i think my mother formed a figure in that position
because it defined "something" about her
and i think that "something"
is inherent in my body as well

and it's interesting to me
that these things from the past inform our present
in very subtle ways
it's comforting to me
when they reveal themselves

and i believe this has something to do with why i am such a pack rat
i mean,
she didn't keep that clay figure
i did