LIFE S T Y LE
C OL U M N
By Susan Michener Spracher
I
’ve
70
been
successfully
ignoring
my
sure I’m not alone. In today’s world the
appearance and instead of looking at our
impending birthday by telling myself it’s
notion of “growing old gracefully” seems
stretch marks as ruining our body, see that
only a number, starting a new fitness routine
to be nothing more than a pithy metaphor.
they make us a tiger who has earned her
and relaxing my heretofore rigid standard of
Women have always measured themselves
stripes. And just so you know if you’re keeping
sprucing up. I was rolling along just fine until
unrealistically against airbrushed magazine
up appearances for the man in your life, the
the morning I looked in the mirror too long.
models, but reality television has taken that
good ones – the ones worth having – don’t
Growing straight out of my forehead as if it
beating to a whole other level. Shows such as
care nearly as much as we think. They say they
were sticking its tongue out at me was a gray
The Real Housewives and Nip/Tuck gave us a
don’t want to hug a stick figure, like the feel
hair, and my naked face showed the lines and
front-row seat to plastic surgery perfection ad
of the real thing and don’t care what we wear
signs of the past year in review. Did anybody
nauseam. I wonder if the pursuit of physical
or whether we have make-up on. Mine has
get the license number of that bus?
flawlessness has been glamorized until it
said I could let my hair go gray and that would
I’m somewhere in the middle of the vanity
seems as simple as grocery shopping. It’s
be hot. How freeing would it be to relish in
continuum. Nothing about my body has EVER
not just in the media that this occurs. It’s in
who we really are, spend less time and money
been in the neighborhood of close to perfect.
our own backyard. It’s our family, friends,
on vanity and more on outside-of-ourself
I was the fat kid in elementary school, and no
neighbors and co-workers punishing their
pursuits? I’m thinking that’s where the joie de
one let me forget it. I got to an average weight
bodies, trying to obtain the mythical eternal
vivre lies.
in high school, but nowhere near the skinny-
youth.
The saying “beauty is only skin deep”
minis that ran the place. I have gained and
It’s not for me to say what a woman needs
means to me that true beauty resides
lost the same 30 pounds 15 times in my life.
to do to feel good about herself. If it’s Botox
underneath our face and our boobs. It’s in our
I seem to have good skin, but only because
and a little work, that’s cool. I just hope that
mind, our heart and our soul. Let’s let it shine,
I often felt too fat in a swimsuit to be out
my fellow sisterhood feel like it’s okay to come
Sister!
soaking up the sun. “Natural” beauty may
as they are. Because I think today’s mantra of
come easily to some; I’ve always had to work
being organic and going green should extend
fouroclockmartini.com
at it, and I have a cabinet full of products to
outside our household and into the rest of our
facebook/thefouroclockmartini
prove it.
life. All saggy boobs, extra pounds, life’s lines
twitter@absolutelySusan
Getting comfortable in my own skin
visible, no hair and make-up – au naturel.
has been a lifelong pursuit, and I’m pretty
Let us be self-loving when considering our
octob er /n ovemb er 2 0 1 3