Sit like a lady!

This was always one of my mum’s favourite admonitions when I was growing up. (What this says about my apparent propensity for lounging vulgarly I do not like to mention.) “Sit like a lady!” she would exclaim whenever she saw me lolling on a couch – or at the table, heaven forbid. She was particularly horrified if I was wearing a skirt or dress, and my legs were spread wide.

Unsurprisingly, it was my own comfort that was of paramount importance in my mind. It was merely an expression of the utter relaxation one felt upon returning home from school; or from completing some other exhausting task, such as watering the garden, or ironing dad’s boxer shorts. There was no-one around to observe my inelegance.

…sitting straight with one’s shoulders back – chin up – will always bestow elegance.

Except my mum of course. (My next-oldest sister hardly counted – she had no qualms against photographing one exiting the toilet, so she certainly held no pretentions to elegance herself). There were other crimes of manners to which my mother objected vociferously, such as guffawing so much one could see one’s fillings, or picking at food with one’s fingers at the dinner table. One risked a whack on the fingers with a serving spoon if caught doing that, and a homily on the traditional use of cutlery. (That was my sister; naturally I never behaved like a peasant at the dining table.)

Now I’m quite grown-up I see the benefit of sitting up straight. Not only is good posture actually good for one, but sitting straight with one’s shoulders back – chin up – will always bestow elegance. One may not be wearing the most expensive clothing, or designer sunglasses, but an elegant carriage will always catch an admiring eye. And it costs nothing except a little effort.

I do recall once when I was a teenager an acquaintance of mine watching me with a sneer as I disposed myself comfortably into an armchair, tucking my feet carefully under me so there was no hint of knickers showing. She spitefully accused me of trying to be posh. It makes me smile now; if only she’d known that I owed it all to my mother’s constant harangues!

These days I hardly ever sprawl in company… and never in a skirt. Thanks, mum.

Happy Mother’s Day.