Eleanor, How I Wish I Had Known Thee

“Once I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: “No good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt

For years I was baffled and somewhat bored when a celebrity was asked whom he or she would have liked to have known or spoken with and the response quickly uttered was, “Eleanor Roosevelt.” It seemed not only a clichéd answer, but also one that suggested an intellectual knowing absent in other parts of that celebrity’s life. I humbly regret my previous judgments and ask forgiveness.

The more I read about Mrs. Roosevelt, the more I fantasize about an evening, or even the shortest of conversations, with her. I know I would make a fool of myself by hanging on her every explanation, staring rudely just because I was awe-struck, and delighting in her observations. I’d probably laugh with an embarrassing snort and then cover my face in horror when she tossed zingers like the above quote my way. I can be quite the dork when I’m smitten.

In a world filled with women trying to hide perceived flaws and/or airbrush away the uniqueness that is theirs alone, Eleanor stood tall both literally (5’ 11”), and figuratively. Born of an addiction addled father and a beautiful debutante mother, she was orphaned before the age of ten. Often a childhood budding under these circumstances dies on the vine and the person takes on a victim status. Not Eleanor. Stories of her open heart and steely perseverance leave me breathless and inspired. How did she do it?

Given her ups and downs, successes and disappointments, I would love to ask who her role models were. What touchstone(s) guided her through the dark days of war, betrayal, a controlling mother-in-law, and loss? What spirit(s) guided her light, her essence, which she shared selflessly with so many? And where did that fabulous sense of humor come from?

I have many, many, questions and unending respect for Eleanor, a woman who could have chosen a much different life path, but selected the one suited to her disposition. Some historians have described her as a plain, even homely, woman. I can only surmise their measuring stick was warped, or their standards flawed. No way, no how, was Eleanor Roosevelt anything but exquisitely beautiful in body and soul.

“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt