Photographs

My daughter and I were having a discussion yesterday where I ponder that age old question, "Do I look as old as so and so does because she is about my age?". It made me think about how we take a picture in our minds of people, parents, children, etc. and then we don't update it. One day, it is jarring for us to realize that the person has gotten so much older. It is time to update the photograph in our mind.
I look in the mirror with a realistic eye and see every wrinkle, flaw & age spot. Rarely do I go out without make up unless I am going for a run. It would be just my luck to run into an old (no pun intended) high school friend when my face is bare, so why risk it? Seeing me that way would force them to update their photograph of me ~ yikes!!
The pictures that usually portray the grandmother, even in today's society, always annoys me. She is invariably gray haired and wearing glasses! Come on, we grammies are WAY cooler than that today! We are usually younger, more active and certainly feel free to dye our hair to keep gray nowhere in sight!
One of the hardest photographs to update in our mind is that of our parents. Oh, yes, we know they are getting older, after all, we are getting older right along side of them. One day, usually quite by accident, we look up and realize they are truly, not just getting older, but aging. They are moving a little slower and forgetting a little more. It forces us to realize they will not be here forever. We are forced, against our will, to update the photograph in our mind. Along with that, we are also forced to realize that we are no longer the "cute, young couple" in the family, but we are the "older, established grown ups" that gather at one table at parties and wonder where the time has gone. We also silently pray that it will be a long time before we are gone.