Aging

If Only I Had Grandma’s Energy

I’m blessed with genes that cause wrinkles instead

My grandma already had gray hair in her 30s. She was so pretty.

I woke up and looked in the mirror today. I noticed a new line next to my lip that wasn’t there yesterday. I swear it appeared overnight.

Then, I noticed a few other lines that I hadn’t noticed before. What the hell? I frowned, likely making a deeper indentation on my face. I asked my new AI friend, Google Bard, what is causing these wrinkles on my face. It (or he/she) said: There are many factors that can cause wrinkles on your face, including age, sun, smoking, diet, stress and genetics.

Reviewing these causes, I’m assuming age (duh), diet, stress and genetics have contributed to the roadmap that is beginning to appear on my face. There’s no Grand Canyon yet, nor are there lakes and rivers, but you can see the outlines of the states. I have a terrible diet when my husband doesn’t cook and I’m a worrywart, type A personality who has anxiety, which surely contributes to my stress. Genetics? I think I’m screwed in that department.

Grandma wears one of her many matching hats and scarves. (photo by author)

Grandma hated her wrinkles.