Reminders

It occurred to me to be thankful for the young, lively, though er...abundant...body that has been bestowed to me when three older women, all thin, well dressed and quite beautiful, sat down at the table next to me this morning.

I overheard the first exclaim as she was sitting: "Girls...this is the first time in.....years....that I have no....Botox in my body!"

Upon a closer look, I noticed the tell-tale lines around the mouth, the eyes, slightly rounder than they should be, that suggests they have been altered in some way. Some cream was applied or injected to neutralize their natural state. The dull, flat color that disguises the gray in their hair, the tight clothes that whisper that they once had a figure to covet.

What happens as we age? Do we become more aware of what we had, or yearn for what never was? Does it happen to all of us, or are some able to skip into that good night, yearning only for what comes next and not giving notice of what has been?

This could sound like petty jealousy, I realize. But I was reminded this morning that life is beyond the picture, surface and two dimensional, that we encounter in each other. Life is what we do, hopefully what we make, rather than what we see.