Fashion trends say eyelashes are in!

Iwas talking on the phone the other day to a friend and apologizing for not being able to answer her earlier call to me.

I said, “Sorry, I was at the doctor’s office.”

“Oh,” she said, “Is everything OK?”

I said, “Yes, some parts are working better than others but with just a little tweaking, I hope to be around for a few more years. My doctor is hopeful.”

If she had had the time or interest, I could have gone into more detail to let her know I was at the eye doctor for a checkup.

After telling me my eye health was on track considering my advanced age, he asked if I had any questions.

I hesitated, then jumped right in with what I really wanted to know.

“Is it OK if I get some false eyelashes adhered to my eyelids? Will it set back the health of my eyes?”

I think he was a little surprised, but asked, “Well, how long do you plan on wearing these new lashes?”

I think he thought it may just be the folly of an 88-year-old for a New Year’s Eve party.

I answered, “Forever.”

I knew if I went so far as to commit to having beautiful eyelashes once, I would never want to give them up, no matter what the cost of maintenance and upkeep.

Like the ongoing maintenance of my hair, which is considerable since, just like my mom, I refuse to have gray hair.

In fact, a couple of weeks before her death, when Mom was in her own home and still receiving friends and relatives, she called me over to her bed one day, told me to search the back of a bathroom drawer for the brown hair spray.

She asked me to spray her hair to cover the gray outgrowth.

Many of you will say “What a vain woman.”

I say, with pride, she always wanted to look her best using every available means so her guests did not pity a dying woman on her death bed but rather a beautiful woman full of vitality. Which she was … both.

I am of a mind that as long as you refuse to give in to “old-age,” thinking young while daily fighting the morning stiffness and aches that come after a day of pushing yourself to more activity, the healthier you will be.

I know. I’ve been there when it was so easy to sit down, turn on the TV and not move the entire day.

The battle of youth versus aging is never-ending and a battle we will eventually lose.

But, while we can, let us enjoy each day in whatever way we can, sharing our hard-won wisdom and experiences through our stories and memories.

But for me, today, it is eyelashes! As my doctor recovered his good grace, smiling, he said, “Well, I recommend every few months to not wear them to give your eyelids a rest and airing out.”

I accepted this answer, which, when I considered later, did not make sense to me.

Perhaps it is like what we have all heard that at least once a year you should allow your fingernails to be without any polish to get a good airing-out to keep them healthy.

That is also hard for me to believe since I have been going for a pedicure once a month for at least 10 years, when it became apparent in my 70s that I could no longer physically do my own toenails.

In all those 10 years not once has that pedicurist advised me to give my toenails an airing-out and do without my favorite red polish for a few weeks.

My toenails continue to flourish, unlike the rest of my body.

Never do I have a broken or chipped toenail.

How does this happen? Toenails get stronger while we lose eyelashes and memory.

I wish I had not felt rushed out of that eye doctor’s office and pressed him to tell me why my eyelids need airing.

Maybe I’ll Google it. They know everything on Google!