Age Spots

Hello!

For some time now, my mom and I have been on a mission to fade our age spots. At 49 years old I notice every line and sag that seems to appear over night. Most of the time, I am not bothered by the “effects of gravity” but with age spots I feel differently.

I have three; pencil-eraser size spots that dot across the upper portion of my cheekbones. I dub them the “equator” because when I peer into the mirror I envision an imaginary line connecting them thus dividing my face into the “northern hemisphere” of eyes and forehead and the “southern hemisphere” of nose, mouth and chin. To a regular person on the street, I am sure the equator is not noticeable; and to date, no one has stopped me and declared, “Wow, look at your equator!” But none-the-less I fret over their presence.

Over the past few years, both my mom and I have gone from cover stick to cosmetic lotions in our attempts to lessen the age spot’s visibility. We have tried natural remedies, Dr. Murad’s age spot fader, Clinique’s brand and the latest and greatest recipes exulted in supermarket news magazines. Dr. Murad’s, to be fair, produced the best results for me but the price of a one ounce bottle of “wonder lotion” was more than I could afford in my currently jobless state.

Just last Friday my mom exclaimed her latest discovery of whole milk and hydrogen peroxide. Apparently you mix it up and dab it on the spots daily. She has not tried it yet and I cautiously wait to hear of her results. If the next time I see her, and she smells a little “sour” I’ll know, she may be onto something.

Anyhow, I go on about this topic because of my two daughters. Well, not really about their smooth, even-toned, age spot-free skin but about the passage of time between them and me. Both girls are in their early twenties, finishing up their education and laying down foundations in their career and social lives. As I remember from my days with my mother, she just did not get it and I expect I don’t either.

For example: texting, Facebook and twitter. This constant compulsion to ‘converse’ at all hours of the day and night through meals and shopping and even classes (they better not) is insane. Why not pick up the telephone or dial the cell and TALK; say your thoughts with your mouth and listen with your ears and respond. All this thumbing and beeping is frantic, distracting and nerve wracking.

In my day, thumbing meant standing on the side of the road and hitching a ride to some other destination. Perhaps, not wise, but definitely less virtual. Alas, my age spot rears it’s awful grey-brown color.

Another mind-boggling behavior: sex. Now, I’m not prudish. I “get it” when it comes to attraction and the whole boy-girl game thing, but “friends with benefits” and casual oral sex? I’m confused.
In my day there were some girls that “did” and more girls that “did not” at least not with just anyone; perhaps their steady boyfriend. But now days, it feels like sex is expected as part of the whole boy/girl dance: boy eyes girl at school, girl texts boy, they meet up at football game and then hook up after. I don’t get it. What happened to mystery and anticipation? My sex age spot? I’ll keep it.

Lastly, there is the whole bitch/bullying thing. What is this all about? Female behavior between other females as always been tense due to jealousy, insecurities and boys, but this escalation of fighting and pulling hair and ambushing in the school hallways is way too intense.

And there is the whole realm of cyber bullying. Both sexes are behaving badly in this regard. Nothing is private and there are no cool down periods between encounters. Because of this and the split second transmitting of un-thought-out thoughts, young adults are at risk to the point of their lives. What ever happened to civil discourse or taking a break? Or that time old quotation, “I’ll see you at the football field…after school…tomorrow.”

Thankfully both of my girls don’t participate in perpetuating this problem and have been fortunate to not be a recipient of this bad behavior, but still where are we going as a society with these deeds?

So, again, I’d rather keep and even be proud of my age spot of person to person telephone calls and meetings to discuss and work out differences.

In some ways the “more things change the more things stay the same.” I mean for all the new tech and digital hocus-pocus, we still face the foundational issues in relationships that require communication and time to resolve issues. TIME TO RESOLVE. That is the key; we need to take a moment to inhale and think, to decide what is important to say and what is not, and what kind of action we want to take and when. All of this takes time.

And with the passage of time comes age spots…perhaps age spots are not such a bad thing after all!!

Well, I have got to go…I have to telephone my mother (and hear her voice), then ask her how her milk and peroxide treatment is coming along?

Have hope,
Donna