On her 88th

My mother who would be an even eighty-eight today was generous in her education of all things female, God bless her. I hate to think of the shock that would be in store for me if I were not privy to her experiences. At this point I am particularly grateful that she taught me what the older years bring with them. We women need to know what to expect. We need not to be alarmed when a stray hair gets on our chin or when laugh lines aren’t so funny anymore.

Mother spent a lot of time grooming shall I say, and when she died she looked lovely and well cared for. Back in her sixties and I was visiting, she would ask me to scrutinize the area above her mouth where men, not us women for Heaven’s sake, get whiskers, and she would ask if I had seen any that her tweezers had missed. Of course I could see fairly well then and was able to tell her, even though she probably never had more than ten flimsy ones her whole life! After she got in her eighties, I once asked her if she still had those pesky, ugly facial hairs and she said not in a while. Well at least that is one thing to look forward to!

Usually I see my own unwelcome physical changes in the spring when the sun begins to shine a little brighter into the bathroom mirror, and the new wrinkle or brown spot, sag or crease on my skin seem to wow! me in a bad way. But at any time I can be taken aback when I see my reflection, like the advancing white hairline that tells me it is time to color. Thankfully I can take at least six months off my age by only a few minutes spent with the Natural Instincts box.

But truly I am grateful for my mommy's random little lessons that helped me to ease into these years, and in return, I try to make younger women aware of what's coming. I hope they appreciate it. Knowing helps. And to quote the ad, “Life comes at us fast.”