The Invisible (Middle-Aged) Woman
She wasn’t quite sure when it happened. She suspected it had crept in somewhere in her late forties and was lurking about- just waiting to make its grand entrance. To its chagrin, she surprised herself (and it) with somewhat of a renaissance at 50. The pandemic had forced her to change her exercise and eating habits and she looked good physically. She felt strong mentally and emotionally. She had finally hit her stride. Middle age wasn’t so bad-it was just the beginning of her second act. She was even dating- not well and definitely not the right people, but having fun. And still, it remained hidden, biding its time.
And then without any announcement- like a rude uninvited guest, it appeared. One morning she noticed a multitude of lines that seemed to have sprung up overnight across her forehead. Where had they come from? Why wasn’t Botox working anymore? And coloring her hair now only lasted a couple of good weeks before the gray started appearing. Don’t even mention the amount of hair she was losing.
Were her eyes getting smaller too? In every photo taken, she looked like she was squinting. Her skin suddenly looked dull, that is, when it didn’t look like she had rosacea. Oh God, were those the start of jowls? And the weight that never seemed to go away- no matter what she did. She looked in the mirror one morning, and saw her mother staring back at her. Not…
