Here is the latest painting by my gifted daughter, Dante. She prefers images of her family, I've noticed. The smiling woman is her mother, Judith. To have a beautiful mother is an interesting destiny. But I recall Dante saying this: "Everyone thinks their mother is beautiful." I don't know how she came up with such an insight. It's probably true. But there's a wide difference between the physical appearance of a billion mothers. And everyone is beautiful to someone? It sounds like a miracle, yet it seems to be so. However it's easy enough to see that Judith is beautiful. And this is certainly the case for her three daughters. Who themselves are beautiful to various sons. I thought about my own mother. Did I once believe that she was beautiful? All available evidence points to the idea that I did. But I never bothered to get a tattoo on my arm with a heart that said "mother." I wonder if that image is still popular. And I can't imagine myself dying in a foxhole on a battlefield and calling out for my mother. Like you see in the movies. But I'd say, judging from some very early photos, that she was beautiful, and I no doubt felt that she was. If a woman is insecure about her looks, and also wishes to be adored, she might consider having a child.