Week 4 of my retirement and doing OK
What the hell happened to my eyebrows?
Life gives and life takes. Changes occur sometimes slowly and.sometimes at rapid speed. As you age, the body you once had now leans downward. Your clothes don't fit just right, yet you are the same weight. You become shorter and the your body parts have moved closer together. What's there to do? According to infomercials, everything can be fixed. Wrinkles on your face, no problem, this cream or that cream will erase them all; can't see, there are laser treatments; balding, there is the hairclub for men and now woman; face falling, there is a 1 hour procedure that you can have during your lunch hour that will lift your face and make you look 10 to 20 years younger. They have all kinds of exercise equipment that will stretch you out and and promise to give you the shape of a 20 year old. These are all tempting (and expensive), as everyone wants youth,. As you may know "old is out" in our society.
Now, I have been persuaded to buy some of these products with the hope of pushing off age-related problems. I have creams galore, defoliating contraptions and products that promise thick and shiny hair. My bathroom is a room of jars. My latest purchase was one I saw on Rachel Ray showing this doctor (?) putting cream on an audience member's face and then, lo and behold, a miracle happened within 2 minutes. The wrinkles disappeared! I got so excited, I ordered it right away. It has not arrived yet (ordered it 2 weeks ago) but in the meantime I read the reviews. Apparently, this is for going out at night and being in low lighting and it only last a few hours. You see, this cream is like a glue substance and begins to flake off after a short time. You cannot stay too long at a party as your face will deteriorate as the evening gets longer. This might work if you are going to a Halloween costume affair. You could go as the "The Portrait of Dorian Grey" For those who are unfamiliar with this book by Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray is beautiful and stays young forever, but his picture ages and changes because of the way he lived his life. I would suggest if you go to a party wearing this miracle substance, you should stay in dim lighting, before you start moulting.
About 10 years ago I went shopping with my friend Anne to Tuesday Morning, a sort of Marshall's for junk. We came across this mirror that magnified 5Xs and had a light. My friend told me she had one and loved it, so I bought it. This mirror is not large, with a diameter of about 2 inches and you can only see half of your face in it. That worked for me as seeing parts are usually better than the whole. Since my sight was getting worse and you take your glasses off before applying makeup, I thought this would help and used it for a few years Over time I decided to be kinder to myself and got a larger mirror with less magnification. Two months ago, I took it out again - for what reason, I do not know. It was frightening! One thing that I noticed was that my eyebrows that I had been grooming for years were now balding. The majority was still there, but with this extreme magnifier, I saw how sparse the hairs were. This depressed me so and I was bound and determined to find a remedy. I used brushes and pencils but looking in the mirror, the amount of cover up I was using looked even scarier. I became eyebrow face. That afternoon I tuned in The Doctors', a TV program with 4 physicians discussing problems that people write in about. Amazingly, one woman wrote in about losing her eyebrows. They said it is something that happens to woman (not men, have you seen Andy Rooney?) due to some medical problems or over plucking. One of their suggestions was hair transplant. Somehow, I do not think this is covered by Medicare. How do I explain to hubby that I need $1000 to get my eyebrows back. I do not think this would fly. Another solution was to keep brushing them and it might stimulate hair growth. I have little faith in that as at this point in my life, when I brush my hair, more seems to come out in my comb. I decided to give it a chance though and for the past week have been routinely brushing the heck out of my brows. What do I have to lose.
I want to end this blog with something that my friend Kathy sent me this morning via e-mail. (You know this is retirees #1 past time, sending jokes or scary information to all their acquaintances.) However this was so beautiful and touched me so, I wanted to share it . Many or all of you might have seen this already as anything on the Internet spreads like lightening, but here it is.
The Bright Red Hat
At 2, she looks in the mirror and sees a princess.
At 7, she sees herself as the beautiful Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.
At 14, she sees herself as a young lady, but fat with pimples and thinks she cannot possibly be seen this way. "How awful" she says.
At 20 years of age, she sees herself as too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall; hair too curly or too straight but she goes out anyways.
At 30 years of age, she still sees herself as too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short but decides she does not have time to fix all that and goes out anyways.
At 40, she still sees herself as too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short; hair too curly or too straight, but she thinks "Hey, I'm alive" and goes out anyway.
At 50, she sees herself in the mirror and says "Finally, I am me". She goes out and thinks I'm even better!
At 60, she looks at herself and thinks of all the women who cannot look at themselves in the mirror. She goes out and conquers the world.
At 70, she sees her worth, her wisdom, her happiness and recognizes her ability. She goes out and enjoys life to the fullest.
At 80, she does not preoccupy herself with looking in the mirror. She simply puts on her bright red hat and goes out and enjoys all the fun that life has to offer.
Let us enjoy each and every moment and share those with the ones we love.
PS from Arleen
I have reached the age where I can laugh about my life, and inside I know I am OK and am proud of the woman I have become. Besides being wife, mother and grandmother, I am me and I am quite something!
What the hell happened to my eyebrows?
Life gives and life takes. Changes occur sometimes slowly and.sometimes at rapid speed. As you age, the body you once had now leans downward. Your clothes don't fit just right, yet you are the same weight. You become shorter and the your body parts have moved closer together. What's there to do? According to infomercials, everything can be fixed. Wrinkles on your face, no problem, this cream or that cream will erase them all; can't see, there are laser treatments; balding, there is the hairclub for men and now woman; face falling, there is a 1 hour procedure that you can have during your lunch hour that will lift your face and make you look 10 to 20 years younger. They have all kinds of exercise equipment that will stretch you out and and promise to give you the shape of a 20 year old. These are all tempting (and expensive), as everyone wants youth,. As you may know "old is out" in our society.
Now, I have been persuaded to buy some of these products with the hope of pushing off age-related problems. I have creams galore, defoliating contraptions and products that promise thick and shiny hair. My bathroom is a room of jars. My latest purchase was one I saw on Rachel Ray showing this doctor (?) putting cream on an audience member's face and then, lo and behold, a miracle happened within 2 minutes. The wrinkles disappeared! I got so excited, I ordered it right away. It has not arrived yet (ordered it 2 weeks ago) but in the meantime I read the reviews. Apparently, this is for going out at night and being in low lighting and it only last a few hours. You see, this cream is like a glue substance and begins to flake off after a short time. You cannot stay too long at a party as your face will deteriorate as the evening gets longer. This might work if you are going to a Halloween costume affair. You could go as the "The Portrait of Dorian Grey" For those who are unfamiliar with this book by Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray is beautiful and stays young forever, but his picture ages and changes because of the way he lived his life. I would suggest if you go to a party wearing this miracle substance, you should stay in dim lighting, before you start moulting.
About 10 years ago I went shopping with my friend Anne to Tuesday Morning, a sort of Marshall's for junk. We came across this mirror that magnified 5Xs and had a light. My friend told me she had one and loved it, so I bought it. This mirror is not large, with a diameter of about 2 inches and you can only see half of your face in it. That worked for me as seeing parts are usually better than the whole. Since my sight was getting worse and you take your glasses off before applying makeup, I thought this would help and used it for a few years Over time I decided to be kinder to myself and got a larger mirror with less magnification. Two months ago, I took it out again - for what reason, I do not know. It was frightening! One thing that I noticed was that my eyebrows that I had been grooming for years were now balding. The majority was still there, but with this extreme magnifier, I saw how sparse the hairs were. This depressed me so and I was bound and determined to find a remedy. I used brushes and pencils but looking in the mirror, the amount of cover up I was using looked even scarier. I became eyebrow face. That afternoon I tuned in The Doctors', a TV program with 4 physicians discussing problems that people write in about. Amazingly, one woman wrote in about losing her eyebrows. They said it is something that happens to woman (not men, have you seen Andy Rooney?) due to some medical problems or over plucking. One of their suggestions was hair transplant. Somehow, I do not think this is covered by Medicare. How do I explain to hubby that I need $1000 to get my eyebrows back. I do not think this would fly. Another solution was to keep brushing them and it might stimulate hair growth. I have little faith in that as at this point in my life, when I brush my hair, more seems to come out in my comb. I decided to give it a chance though and for the past week have been routinely brushing the heck out of my brows. What do I have to lose.
I want to end this blog with something that my friend Kathy sent me this morning via e-mail. (You know this is retirees #1 past time, sending jokes or scary information to all their acquaintances.) However this was so beautiful and touched me so, I wanted to share it . Many or all of you might have seen this already as anything on the Internet spreads like lightening, but here it is.
The Bright Red Hat
At 2, she looks in the mirror and sees a princess.
At 7, she sees herself as the beautiful Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty.
At 14, she sees herself as a young lady, but fat with pimples and thinks she cannot possibly be seen this way. "How awful" she says.
At 20 years of age, she sees herself as too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall; hair too curly or too straight but she goes out anyways.
At 30 years of age, she still sees herself as too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short but decides she does not have time to fix all that and goes out anyways.
At 40, she still sees herself as too fat, too skinny, too tall, too short; hair too curly or too straight, but she thinks "Hey, I'm alive" and goes out anyway.
At 50, she sees herself in the mirror and says "Finally, I am me". She goes out and thinks I'm even better!
At 60, she looks at herself and thinks of all the women who cannot look at themselves in the mirror. She goes out and conquers the world.
At 70, she sees her worth, her wisdom, her happiness and recognizes her ability. She goes out and enjoys life to the fullest.
At 80, she does not preoccupy herself with looking in the mirror. She simply puts on her bright red hat and goes out and enjoys all the fun that life has to offer.
Let us enjoy each and every moment and share those with the ones we love.
PS from Arleen
I have reached the age where I can laugh about my life, and inside I know I am OK and am proud of the woman I have become. Besides being wife, mother and grandmother, I am me and I am quite something!
Yes you are!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, Arleen, I am laughing out loud, and this isn't easy for me today. You have a gift...keep these coming! My mom would have enjoyed your blogging. She may have suggested lipliner for the patchy brows (you know what I'm talkin' 'bout!)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I do. It was a good look.
ReplyDeleteI loved the video on hands and the above written script it was so touching. One of my sisters has hands that look and feel just like my moms and I cherish them and her for herself but oh how I love to see my mom through her. And yes Arleen you are quite something special!
ReplyDelete