Saturday, February 2, 2008

Happy VGLDSWD!

I'm told by my newsletter from Little Thurlow in England--a village --for real--that today is International Very Good Looking, Damn Smart Women's Day. The motto to live by is: Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body throughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO" What a ride!"

Hmmm. I'm all for it --except for the part about seeminly abandoning the thought of having an attractive and well preserved body. I mean Clairol was not invented for kids you know. It was invented for me--and billions of women like me. I haven't the vaguest idea what color my hair would be without hair dye. I do know I have grey streaks at my temples and one lovely one like a skunk in the center--but I don't let them show more than a scant half inch--and not as long as I live. And I've sworn I'll go to my grave (actually cremation) with a bottle of dye in my hands and a note to the angels to please do a touch up. I don't want to meet my Saviour with my hair looking like hell. Uh--well. You know what I mean.

And my body. Well-- it's recently been thgough a great deal of stuff and is a mess at the moment but I'll fix it up somehow by the time I die. I mean--it will be well used and throughly worn out--but--I really don't want to look like an empty sack. Of course if I'm the age I've sworn to die--104--then the odds are against me on that and I may have to adjust to the reality of it. But that is 44 years from now. I've time.

I've still time to write another book or twelve and get published again, and probably raise a great grand kid or two--although I do believe my husband would leave me if I said yes again. This time--the grandchildren--it was his idea and I said yes of course--but he said never again. But 44 years--a lot can change.

I may even end up with my promise to myself to live by a lake and have a boat. I've got everything I ever wanted truly. I've 44 more years to get that. And then I'll skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, dye bottle in the other and scream "WOO HOO, what a ride!"