Aging

This aging thing stinks. Thanks Adam and Eve! It's all your fault. God never intended for us to watch ourselves shrivel up and then die.

My Netscape AOL news ticker just showed a pic of Brooke Shields, who happens to share my birth year - 1966. Her level of wrinkles is about like mine, minus the acne scars, which make one look even older.

I saw a glimpse of my arms this weekend, in florescent light. Horror. The skin is sun-damaged, as is that on my hands. Ladies in your twenties and thirties - use sunscreen on your arms, hands, face and neck! They see the most sun in your lifetime, and give away your age easily, if you let them. You will lament less when you reach your forties if you exercise caution now.

A little friendly advice, from shriveled up me.

In other sad news, I researched this not-so-flat, post-C-section stomach of mine. Things were pretty good abdominally after the other three children - no stretch marks, relative flatness. Now, I hate my stomach. Still no stretch marks - have varicose veins on my legs instead, which is the raw end of the deal, given that they're not easily hidden in the summer - but there's still that bit of bloatedness I told you about right above the incision scar. Turns out, it can be common for C-section tummies to never return to their previous glory.

Swell.

At least I can still pluck out my white hairs. I started that at 32, and so far they're not getting ahead of me.

Really, I'm trying to be positive about physical decline. After all, we all get our turn at youth. However, I can think of few things as horrible as watching the shriveling of one's outer body. The whole thing feels a little more glum when baby hasn't slept well in several days, and Mommy's overtired and cranky.

Sunscreen, Ladies. It's your best friend.