Portrait of a Lady Study#1

watercolor

Lavinia Baker

widow of Frazier Baker

 “...this woman, 

moved by some private sorrow as much as the words being spoken, 

cried almost silently, 

unobserved by others, 

apart from Mma Ramotswe, 

who stretched out her hand and laid it on her shoulder.

 Do not cry, Mma,

 she began to whisper, 

but changed her words even as she uttered them,

 and said quietly, 

Yes, you can cry, Mma. 

We should not tell people not to weep - 

we do it because of our sympathy for them - 

but we should really tell them 

that their tears 

are justified 

and entirely right.” 

― Alexander McCall Smith, Double Comfort Safari Club

sharing at PaintPartyFriday