~ James A. Garfield
“What are all those lines and bumps around
your eye, Grammie?” she asked.
I laughed,
“Those are wrinkles, Nora.”
“Ummm,” she responded. “Why do you have them?”
I decided to go with the short answer.
“Well, Grammie is getting older, and when you get older you usually get wrinkles.”
That answer was enough for my little granddaughter. She hopped off my lap and skipped off to play with her sisters.


Thankfully I fell asleep deciding it would not be necessary to take up arms against the uninvited signs of aging I had glared at in the mirror that evening. I decided to embrace them instead. Don’t get me wrong, I still use my night cream before settling in for the night, but next time one of my little ones notices some new lines or creases on Grammie’s face and wonders why they’re there, I’m just going to say, “honey, those are part of my story!” I’m just not prepared to age, I’ll deal with that when I’m old-- and who knows when that will be.