I saw a bit of Rachel Ray while I was at work today. A woman was talking about her schedule and her career as an early morning news anchorwoman. She said that other women in her career are considering botox or plastic surgery. Aside from anything that invasive she would be willing to try anything to get rid of her crow's feet. She said this sentence in tones that became distressingly emotional at the end. The way she said crow's feet is, for me, associated with deep personal torment and grief. She wasn't being dramatic or fake. She was baring her soul. It absolutely amazed me. I feel sad for her. Not because she has the crow's feet, but because she feels like she has to hide them.
One of the first things I fell in love with about Lost Boy are the happy creases at the corners of his eyes. He is still rather young, so you don't see them all the time. But when he has been out adventuring in the sun and wind, or when he smiles and I'm sitting close enough, I can see them come out. To me they say:
I enjoy life.
I laugh often.
I have experienced things.
I hope I can develop crow's feet like my Lost Boy's. Or like my mom's beautiful ones! I know I need to laugh more and go on more adventures - to experience life; not to just wait for, or stress about, the next big thing. I married Lost Boy because I knew he would take me on adventures, and I've discovered that he is helping me laugh more often. I'm glad I didn't choose a career that pressures me to look a certain way and hide my natural face.
Whenever I think about how crazy people can be about this sort of thing I think about Mel Gibson. That man's face has true character and he is of course even more handsome because of it. I have seen a whole lot of his movies and watched his face change and adapt to his experiences.
ReplyDeleteI think you have the right attitude about it. I wish society would realize aging gracefully adds character to a persons face and can make them more attractive. I think this attitude is particularily negative when it comes to women, you don't see a lot of examples of women who have aged well (without the help of plastic surgery and the like) on the screen.
But I still think they're beautiful, especially my 83 yr old Grandma, whose wrinkles/aged happiness marks speak volumes for the woman she was and is.
I. Love. This.
ReplyDeleteMy Man has crow's feet too. I've kissed them many times.
You said this so beautifully -
I like you, lady.