Who dat?
I woke this morning to the sound of the door knock – wake up, time to eat. Soggy oatmeal (steel cut being a misnomer) and over-steeped tea. I was making my way through Tuesday’s New York Times when I paused to go get in the shower and get ready for the day. Then I came back to the little stool and the mirror I had taken from the bathroom to put on the scant make-up I wear these days. I looked at my reflection and thought, who dat?
Staring back at me was a halo of grey clearly visible with my hair pulled back. Wrinkles so deep around my eyes and nose and mouth that I was shocked I hadn’t seen them so clearly before. Crinkled lips. Oh my, I thought, I aged last night.
Then I noticed I was looking at the magnifying side of the mirror and I caught my breath. I looked up to the mirror that was above the desk where I was sitting and from afar, in natural light, with no magnification, the wrinkles were more subtle, the grey less visible.
Lighting. Distance. Action.