What I’ve learned about getting older

Recently, I read an essay about the aging process and came across a very sobering fact:

We all get uglier as we age.

I didn’t like reading that, but I know it’s true. When I look at pictures of myself 35 years ago, I feel pretty confident about the way I looked. My features looked symmetrical, my skin was free of blotching and crow’s feet, and, of course, my posture was better.

What happened?

When I see photos of my aunts when they were my age, I notice that I’m beginning to look like them, except for one wealthy aunt who had three facelifts and four husbands. She never seemed to age.

I’m trying not to get too upset about this. At least I can play Connect the Dots with all the blemishes on my face and come up with a cartoon.

Because I have Irish skin, I lack the melanin that is present in many other ethnicities. My partner says they’re freckles, but I know the truth.

Lack of melanin means more stripes and spots, just like my relatives from Ireland and England. We may look presentable when we’re young, and then we look like old trees as seniors.

When we visit my mother-in-law in an assisted living facility, I try to roll back the camera on all the residents that I meet there. I wonder what they must’ve looked like in their prime.

Was she gorgeous before her age spots and wrinkles took over? What did her hair look like before she let it go gray?

How tall was she before osteoporosis? Did she have pretty hands before they became gnarled and spotted? Did he once have a full head of hair?

I’ve been told that I look relatively good for 72. I attribute that to having no husband and no kids. However, I also believe that exercise, a balanced diet, and maintaining a positive attitude all contribute to looking younger and stress certainly contributes to aging, but sometimes it’s hard to avoid.

For me, my humor is an essential ingredient in combating the aging process. My partner and I both laugh when we notice a new ailment. She has beautiful skin, but now, when she bumps into things, a hematoma keeps her company for a few days. Welcome to the club. Her hearing and eyesight are both better than mine, but sometimes she’s more forgetful than I am.

We’re all getting older, and most of us are trying to do things to keep ourselves going. Unfortunately, nature has a way of reminding us that we’re not entirely in charge.

If I could get more melanin in my skin, that would be nice, but it’s a little late for that. Although I still color my hair and use baking soda and whitening toothpaste, I’m not at a point where I want to consider more extreme anti-aging techniques.

I suppose I’ll have to be content with who I am, what I look like, and be grateful for what I can still do.

And of course, continue to laugh about it.