The Return To Innocence

Our contractor, Victor Faustino, arrived with swatches for new carpet and new sheet vinyl and our estimate. The price is only a couple thousand over State Farm's payment, which will come out of our tax refund - funny how life works out like that. Happy birthday, we're getting a new kitchen. Dark granite-like kitchen floor, dark gray carpet, honey brown cabinets. Victor was awesome; we had long talks about all sorts of things. I would recommend him. We gave him a bag of dried goji berries.

Adam then took me to the CVS in the Gaithersburg Square center, where I picked up several hair serums - much needed now that my hair is getting longer. (Nubian Heritage Indian Hemp & Tamanu Grow & Strengthen Serum as well as the matching conditioner; Optimum Salon 6-in-1 Miracle Oil; Motions Salon Naturally You Radiant Gloss. Chosen for their ingredients, such as argan, bamboo, neem, tamanu, biotin, shea, avocado, coconut. With the coupons, we saved just under twenty dollars.

We then went to H-Mart, and luckily we found seasonally rare soft shell crabs, which we shall deep fry, because the fryer also still has bacon grease. Dinner shall be awesome. I also grabbed that awesome Real Beanz Energize Coffee and Coco Cafe coconut water coffee in Mocha - Mocha has the best taste. They also had Bai5 coffeefruit juices and BodyArmor energy juices for half price. Grand Mart may have the wonderful whole milk Indian yogurt, but H-Mart has... all the other stuff.

I know I had put other things on my list, but they became unnecessary. I was just happy enough to spend time with the husband before he had to go off to work for several days once again.

My mother is 57 today. She still barely looks 50.
As a rule, it seems, my parents and I never look our age. I have decided that after we hit age 25, our looks seem to regress a little with every birthday. Maybe it's just the way we take care of our health, along with the good genetics. My father is 66 and he still doesn't look much older than mid-fifties. Except for the salt and pepper hair, you really can't tell that he's past 60. If he dyed his hair back to black, he'd look even younger. All the photos of Dad when he was in his 20's to his 40's show an unbelievably youthful handsome guy. He was 39 when I was born and he looked 30. Mom looks exactly like her high school graduation photo -- when she was 16 -- save for slightly sagging jowls and some crow's feet. She also has that one white streak in her hair. She is graying, but she's been dyeing it back to light brown. Neither of them have thinning hair, either.
Of course, it probably helps that we are all short and skinny. My father can't gain weight to save his life. He still fits into his Navy uniform from forty-five years ago. And Mom naturally eats like a bird.
Steve didn't believe me when I said I'd turned 27 in April. I don't think anyone did. Hell, sometimes my own husband forgets what year I was born in. Yet I sound much older. I have had the voice and tone of someone in their 30's since I was 16. But since I was 16, I apparently have stayed young-looking. I think it's disconcerting to some people. Bartenders and bouncers always do double-takes between me and my photo ID.
And people wonder why I never wear T-Shirts with cutesy flowery rainbow unicorn heart pictures on them. When I was 20, I once went with Adam to a bar that accepted people over 18. I was wearing a white T-Shirt with Mickey Mouse on it, my hair in braids; and the bouncer was convinced that my ID was fake and refused to let me in.

I take impeccably good care of my skin from the inside out. Exfoliation, moisturizing, supplementation. It does show. My cousin Robbie once told me I could do cosmetics commercials. But looking young when you are older only works if you can convince people you actually are an adult.

Ahh, youth is fleeting. Everyone wants it. Just be careful what you wish for.

My mother is 57 today. She still barely looks 50.
As a rule, it seems, my parents and I never look our age. I have decided that after we hit age 25, our looks seem to regress a little with every birthday. Maybe it's just the way we take care of our health, along with the good genetics. My father is 66 and he still doesn't look much older than mid-fifties. Except for the salt and pepper hair, you really can't tell that he's past 60. If he dyed his hair back to black, he'd look even younger. All the photos of Dad when he was in his 20's to his 40's show an unbelievably youthful handsome guy. He was 39 when I was born and he looked 30. Mom looks exactly like her high school graduation photo -- when she was 16 -- save for slightly sagging jowls and some crow's feet. She also has that one white streak in her hair. She is graying, but she's been dyeing it back to light brown. Neither of them have thinning hair, either.
Of course, it probably helps that we are all short and skinny. My father can't gain weight to save his life. He still fits into his Navy uniform from forty-five years ago. And Mom naturally eats like a bird.
Steve didn't believe me when I said I'd turned 27 in April. I don't think anyone did. Hell, sometimes my own husband forgets what year I was born in. Yet I sound much older. I have had the voice and tone of someone in their 30's since I was 16. But since I was 16, I apparently have stayed young-looking. I think it's disconcerting to some people. Bartenders and bouncers always do double-takes between me and my photo ID.
And people wonder why I never wear T-Shirts with cutesy flowery rainbow unicorn heart pictures on them. When I was 20, I once went with Adam to a bar that accepted people over 18. I was wearing a white T-Shirt with Mickey Mouse on it, my hair in braids; and the bouncer was convinced that my ID was fake and refused to let me in.

I take impeccably good care of my skin from the inside out. Exfoliation, moisturizing, supplementation. It does show. My cousin Robbie once told me I could do cosmetics commercials. But looking young when you are older only works if you can convince people you actually are an adult.

Ahh, youth is fleeting. Everyone wants it. Just be careful what you wish for.