The Lesson of the Ugly Green Sweater

My mother was beautiful, with an indefinable something about her that made people take notice.   She loved clothes and was always well attired, which is why the ugly green sweater upset me so much.   It was made of teal jersey, lined with the same material in a teal and white stripe, and featured something called a funnel neck.  While I actually liked the color, it was too big, the cut was awful, and it was the most unflattering thing I ever saw her wear.   To my frustration, she wore it all the time. 

After she died, I tried on the ugly green sweater to see why she liked it.  I discovered that it was soft, warm, and felt like a hug.  It was the perfect weight, somewhere between a sweater and a jacket, and it looked just as bad on me as it did on her.   I wore it at work for several years for just those reasons and to remind me that things aren't always as they appear to be.