Back in high school, a good friend said after meeting my family, “Your mother is so beautiful. What happened to you?” I laughed. Good question. Part of Mom’s looks have been their enviable resilience to time, something she never took for granted. Korean women remain vigilant against the insistence of gravity on their face, and here I am without the aid of benevolent genes. All the more I really should groom. Mom saw the photos I sent and called me with an opening commentary on my husband. “He looks so good. He looks better every year. But…you! Take care of yourself!” she urged. She meant the face.
Studying a group shot with friends from five years back, I was shocked to see how young we looked. One guy is not yet 40 and has since gone gray. But he doesn’t look bad. Somehow his wife doesn’t wear the wrinkles so well. Mom has chased her attractiveness with diligent day-and-night regimens in a way Dad is free not to have to worry about. My husband is aging like wine. Me? I’m the milk that’s been sitting out.
You men. Just how do you pull off salt-and-pepper hair and crow’s feet? Dignified. They say you look dignified. Ugh. You don’t march to a biological clock and enjoy a longer visual expiration date. To add insult to injury, all you have to do is shave and buzz that hair to regain three young, handsome years. As a statistic, you die before we do. Your eye candy, your wife, loses her sweetness and you decide it’s a good time to check out.
Several readers have asked to get together off the blog. I’ve needed to take a rain check, but I’m tempted to reconsider. God knows what I’ll look like in a year.
Here’s Part 1.
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