MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL, TIME HAS NOT BEEN KIND TO ME AT ALL

Lifestyle

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Baby boomers are looking much younger than their age these days. 60 is the new 40, they say, thanks in part to cosmetic aids and medical advances.

However, there are certain parts of the body that reveal our real age, that no amount of clever cosmetic tricks will cover up for long. Let’s leave aside surgical procedures that enhance one’s physical appearance. After all, how many of us have the financial resources to go down that expensive route to looking ‘youthful’? Not many.

This tongue-in-cheek post is dedicated to those among us to whom “60 is the new 40” does NOT apply. We look our age, and for some, even older than our age!

10 body parts that betray our age, in no particular order.

1. Face
No prizes if you got this right. The lines on our face (and neck) tell the truth – that we are no spring chicks. More like autumn hens, or turkeys if you know what I mean.

2. Knees and elbows
From years of wear and tear, the skin covering these joints resemble the roughness and toughness of elephant skin. When my grandson was 4, he used to be fascinated by the folds on my hands and kept trying to see if he could smoothen them out!

3. Skin
Like the migratory birds that fly south during the winter months, our skin goes south too. Unfortunately for us, it is a permanent southward migration. In old age, our skin loses its elasticity and literally ‘hangs loose’.

4. Eyes
From ‘Dreamy Eyes’ to ‘Droopy Eyes’. If only we could iron out those laughter lines or ‘crow feet’ that surface each time we laugh out loud. No wonder we seldom see older women react to jokes no matter how hilarious!

5. Neck
Now you know why older women wear scarves or opt for clothes with a high collar. The dreaded ‘turkey neck’ syndrome afflicts all of us, sooner or later.

6. Hands
Unless we wear gloves all the time, there is no way we can hide our wrinkled, gnarled hands. They are a dead giveaway of our age.

7. Hair
Not only does our hair turn grey, silver, white, it goes into free-fall whenever we brush it. The horror of removing clumps of hair from the hair brush and from the bathroom floor. Yikes!

8. Teeth
The number dwindles with advancing age. Only solution – dentures or implants. That explains why most older folks prefer soft foods!

9. Breasts
This affects women more than men. No longer firm and perky, the breasts now swing freely and resemble papayas.

10. Penis
This body part in older men spends more time hanging down than pointing up. Fortunately, the little blue pill comes in handy, and is a life-saver for grandpas that still want some action..

The funny side of ageing – developing a sense of humor helps to keep us young in spirit

For a peek at some nude paintings that captures the way our body really looks, click here.

Depressing, isn’t it? We miss how we used to look. No wonder many of us avoid looking in the mirror, especially a full-length one. The years do take a toll on our body.

I will turn 73 in June 2021, and I wear my age with pride.

All living things including humans have a life span, an expiry date. Let us not tamper too much with God’s creations. There are only so many face lifts one can have, or number of botox jabs our body can tolerate before our entire body crumbles and collpases under the strain. And we end up looking very much worse than if we had left our body especially our face, alone and allow it to age naturally.

Looking great has a lot to do with feeling great. It’s more important to remain young at heart and in spirit than looking young in appearance.

Here are some great tips on how we can do just that, courtesy of Audrey Hepburn.

A truly loving spouse, partner or friend will see beyond the external and look deeper into that beauty of soul and spirit that still reside inside all of us. But we must continue to nurture that inner youthfulness and keep it forever young.