Defying gravity

“With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come.” William Shakespeare

You could say the guy was armed to the Bluetooth. He sat at our favorite diner, waiting for his soup — while texting, reading something on a Kindle and wearing a fitness tracker on each wrist and a Bluetooth in one ear. And, I thought women were the masters of multi-tasking!

I’d laugh. (Actually, I did laugh, once mom and I were in the car…) But, I’m not really any different. Where one guy tries to stay relevant by being tech savvy, I and my kind try to keep up with the herd by looking good. An example? Right now, I’m all about the moisturizer.

Our bathroom contains lemon-grass body butter for my heels and elbows, Jamaican black castor oil smoothie for my curls, oat and milk scrub for my face, honey and grapeseed oil to top that off, coconut oil lotion for everywhere else, refreshing drops for my eyes, peppermint oil balm for my lips and on and on and on.

Our youngest daughter popped in one evening when I was completing my 42-step pre-bedtime slathering. I was applying a coat of lip balm on those pesky lines that have recently appeared aside my mouth. “Mom!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing?”

“Moisturizing,” I mumbled. In my heart, I sang back, “Burt’s Bees and I, defying gravity.”

I try. I really do. But, I am a woman of a certain age. I know it’s only a matter of time until something’s sagging and, in truth, I’ve gotten to the point where I can accept that. The Shakespeare quote, for example, doesn’t make me recoil. It makes me smile, even though smiling is what caused these pesky mouth lines in the first place.

You see, my soul has gotten older over the years, as well. Not in the wrinkled, sagging sense — just in the wiser sense. It knows to just keep on. Keep on depending on God for a daily refreshing that’s way better than any moisturizer this world can cook up.

Staying relevant? Keeping up with the herd? I’ll give it a shot. I’m out here writing in the ether for one thing. But, I know it’s only a matter of time until I really am defying gravity — forever. I can feel the mirthful laughter coming on even now.