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Who's that strange woman in my mirror?

I'm not vain. Really, I'm not. Okay, I'm not totally devoid of vanity. But, honestly, I've never been one to scrutinize myself in the mirror. But I don't close my eyes when I'm brushing my teeth, putting on some make-up, combing my hair, etc. And when I'm getting out of the shower I catch a glimpse of myself in my full length mirror. I'm emphasizing glimpse because a glimpse is enough for me to say to myself "who the hell is that woman staring back at me in the mirror?" I swear I don't know her. And whoever she is, well, poor thing, she's really let herself go. I'm not going into detail. For my own sake as well as yours. Besides, I'm sure a lot of you know what I'm talking about. I'm guessing a lot of you have your own stranger living in your mirrors.

But let me move on to this stranger's face. What are those little brown spots? I'm pretty sure they're not freckles. And those eye lids. Sad how they are starting to droop. Then there are those lines at the corners of her mouth. Smile lines. Smile lines aren't a bad thing. Only these smile lines don't go away when she stops smiling. Worst of all, her neck. This woman's neck is so....so wrinkled. It's so...so old looking.

When I was little sometimes I'd make faces and my mother would always say, "if you keep doing that one day your face will freeze like that.

Oh God, what if it's finally happened? At least it didn't happen to me in "real life". But it has happened to that old woman looking at me in my mirror. And not only my mirror. She's lurking in very damn mirror I pass. Every storefront window. This woman keeps following me around.

I think that woman in the mirror is my very own Dorian Gray! The image gets older and older every day and it's getting so there are days I hardly recognize her. Good thing there aren't mirrors everywhere I go. And if I can just remember to avoid those surreptitious glances over at storefront windows I can lose her for long stretches of time. And then it's just me, at least the me that happily lives in my mind. The young woman with the "real" dirty blond hair, smooth skin with nary a brown dot, the smile lines that disappear when I get serious. And my neck. A nice, long, unwrinkled neck.

As for the aforementioned body in the mirror, granted I've given it only the scantest of looks, but I can affirm with certainty that is NOT by body. I know this for certain I tell you because I do not recognize that body in there at all.


I really think she'd be happier living in someone else's mirror. Anyone want her?????

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