Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Face Time

Selfie of Wynn Anne - no make-up, no airbrushing. Also: no sleep in the last 30 hours. | Wynn Anne's Meanderings
No make-up, no filters, no airbrushing. Also: no sleep in the last 30 hours.
I came in from my walk with Kane today and, although it was eight degrees below zero (Celsius) and quite windy outdoors, I was sweating. The polar fleece vest had kept me mostly dry, but the lining of my windbreaker was dripping wet.

After dismantling the many layers of my bitter-winter dog-walking garb, I fed Kane his lunch then edited some photos while I cooled down.

When I finally went upstairs to change, I caught myself in the mirror. Wow. My cheeks were pink. And the planes of my cheekbones were darkened with tan and freckles.

I stood back and looked.

I thought: I'm going to have to start wearing sunscreen.

I thought: You know? This isn't so bad. Even after a night of complete insomnia.

My dad at about the same age as I am now. | Wynn Anne's Meanderings.
My dad at about the same age as I am now. 
I thought (not for the first time): I look like my dad and my other Simpson relatives, with the slightly flattened nose, the high cheekbones, the jowls, and the freckles (or age spots). I liked that.

I thought: When I'm 80 years old, I'm going to look back and think how pretty I was.

So when I got back downstairs, I snapped a picture. I opened it in Photoshop. I sharpened the picture. I lightened the shadows. I removed two zits (because those aren't permanent).

I left all the wrinkles, the under-eye bags, the remnants of this morning's lipstick, the age spots and the funny red blood vessel thingy on my forehead.

I've spent too damned much of my life wishing I looked like Cindy Crawford (or at least Reese Witherspoon). Like every woman out there, I've compared myself to the Photoshopped-to-unrecognizable celebrities on People.com. As I've seen more women posting their "no-makeup selfies," I've been saddened by how the women and girls are loath to show their natural selves.

And these are young, attractive women! I want to shake them!

I looked at myself and thought: This is what healthy looks like. This is what happiness looks like. And I felt beautiful.

15 comments:

  1. Hello pretty lady! Good for you and that's a beautiful selfie (I would have taken out any zits too), you do look very healthy and happy too!!

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  2. Awwww.....what a beautiful post and a beautiful photo! You are right to love the skin you are in - we often look at ourselves in too much of a critical way! We see things others don't even notice! Good for you for being confident in your own skin!

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    1. I honestly was surprised at the photo -- I'm so used to cameras capturing bad angles and unflattering details.

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  4. beautiful photo and a beautiful attitude!!

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  5. Gorgeous au natural. I've always said, "bring on the wrinkles." Maybe I won't feel the same as I get older, but hopefully I do. Better to love yourself for exactly what you are.

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    1. Thank you, Tia. There is a point when, I think, most women face a choice: fight the effects of aging or accept them. I feel sorry for the Hollywood celebs who must feel incredible pressure to fight it with everything they've got.

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  6. So great! I think as we age we tend to slowly come back and find ourselves as we knew us when we were kids. Kids just say "this is me" and the benefit of hitting our forties and beyond is remembering to say "this is me". I love it. You look great! :)

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    1. Thank you, Janet. I think you're quite right -- I've hit that age where I'm not trying to be someone else.

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  7. I cannot tell you how much I love this blog post! The picture of you is indeed so, so beautiful, but it's your ability to appreciate your own beauty that I find so refreshing. Good for you!

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    1. Thanks, Allison! Of course, I probably wouldn't have posted it if the picture hadn't turned out well . . . I'm not THAT confident!

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  8. You look fantastic!!! I love it. And you are so right, at 80 we will all look back and talk about how beautiful we were.

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    1. I have to thank Steve for all the years and years of family pictures we took, against my wishes. I've looked back at them with gratitude.

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