My Eye Job: The Realization
RobinWolaner
Posted: Sep 30, 07 1:41pm Part One: The RealizationI don't think of myself as vain. I wear no makeup on a regular basis; at my wedding, I got dressed in a room without a mirror; and, as you can see on the front door of TeeBeeDee, I am willing to share an incredibly unflattering photo of myself (the ones you see below are from a more "gentle" time).
I am not a girlie girl. So at my 50th birthday celebration, surrounded by 16 of my closest girlfriends, I was surprised by how interested I was in the conversations about cosmetic procedures. Some revealed they had had surgery, and most were considering it. I started thinking about the bags under my eyes--the feature that cries out to me "you look old." I didn't get much farther than thinking about it when I discovered I had breast cancer. Although I breezed through surgery--with a good outcome--the idea of inflicting another knife on my body was unthinkable. Eighteen months later, a series of encounters got me thinking again. A friend sent me a photo of the two of us together and I wanted to edit myself out. My (younger) sister greeted me after an absence with genuine concern: "What's with the puffiness under your eyes?" And then a museum guard complimented me on my daughter: "She's adorable, is she your granddaughter?" That was it! I booked a consultation the following week. Stewart, the man in my life, kept telling me I didn't need the surgery. He has always treated me as though I were beautiful. So there was no one to blame, but myself, if anything went wrong. It did. Next: How I researched my options. What I Wish I'd Known...Don't assume your friends haven't had cosmetic surgery. Ask them! Have Something to Say? | ADVERTISEMENT  |
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Posted: Oct 1, 07 1:44am
* includes photos
Well, Robin,
you are definitely a lady with courage! I enjoyed your sharing experience, strength, insight and hope in the vein you did. I'll bet you help beaucoup folks out there of both sexes.
I'm glad you are my online Friend. I'm proud of you. BTW, do you ever get the urge to tug your left earlobe? Your resemblance is striking in a good way...
Stay out of MUNI until you heal completely (green guilt or not) as there is quite a bit of jostling among the hoi polloi. And the last thing you need is a flying elbow at the wrong time. Just a suggestion.
Either way, I agree with your Stewart, you look (and looked - see 'Losing Your Looks'), to quote Billy Crystal and Fernando Lamas, "Mahvelous!"
Me before... (and we all know how AFTER turned out...)
Posted: Oct 1, 07 8:00am
* includes photos
Robin, if the man who loves you loves your looks, then you are the most beautiful woman on earth. Because I am at the periphery of the entertainment industry, I have gotten to see people like Joanie Rivers from a distance of three feet after she stood under kleig lights performing in a nightclub for 2 hours. My God, the poor dear is barely human looking. Not a wrinkle on her face but she looks like ET after his space ship fell on him! And there is no plastic surgery that can make 78 year old hands look young!
Everyone I've seen after facial enhancement has looked better for a little while - if they went to the best surgeons. But skin is meant to suffer the slings and arrows of your fortune whether it is outrageous or enchanted. When you change it, sooner or later, it decides to shift to wherever it was going in the first place.
When I look at your face, I see intelligence shining through. I see a life lived to the fullest. I see pain from circumstances, I also see the joys life brought you - lots of laugh lines! But I wouldn't see who you are if you had all the skin tucked away and a pretend youth that doesn't represent who you are.
If you could simply remove the middle aged skin and replace it with twenty year old skin it would be fine. But when you have to make fifty years of living do what twenty does, sooner or later, the old adage from the advertisement kicks in: "You can't fool mother nature."
My mother, in her last years, was still beautiful. The sunshine, the creativity, the reasonableness she brought to the world was undamaged by 89 years of living. Her smiles were not rictuses caused by plastic surgery in a vain attempt to fool people into believing she was young.
So, some insensitive idiot believes you look like a baby's grandmother? You have a man in your life every day who thinks you are beautiful because he sees both your face and your soul.
1970. This is how I still see my wife!
My mom at 89
Posted: Dec 18, 07 6:21am
I had very long blonde (very blonde) hair all my life. Beautiful. I turned heads. Then one day I realized it was really making me look harsh. I grew it out a couple of inches, went to Vegas, drank a large margarita and had it cut to the tip of its brown roots. I went into shock. I looked at the woman in the mirror. I thought she was attractive, I just had no idea who she was!!! It's been two years now and my students even say I've gotten better as I've aged and that I don't look like I'm about to turn 50 in a few years. wow. 50. LOL.
My friend Sandy wanted to soften her face. She thinned her hair, had her hairdresser give her a little "do" that was easy and feminine, added a few soft highlights and wisps and WOW she looks great. Took all the harshness out of her face and softened her eyes and lines.
You are beautiful Robin. So kind looking. Like someone with whom we'd all like to have lunch. Try wearing some soft new feminine colors or getting your hair "wispy" and highlighted by a really GOOD stylist and color expert. Buy a belt from a juniors department (you certainly have the figure).
N E Wayz.....I sai d that to say this: Don't do anything else! You really are beautiful the way you are. We women need to see ourselves as others see us!! :-)
We love ya!