Aging Gracefully

Until recently, I was always blessed with a youthful appearance that made me look younger than my years. Now that I'm one year shy of 40, that youthful appearance is gradually fading: gravity is slowly taking hold of my jaw line, my eyes have become more tired-looking, my joints ache often from the use and abuse they sustained in my younger years, and the silver in my hair seems to be increasing by the day, to the point that I was recently mistaken for my son's grandmother. Till now, I've been comfortable with these inevitable signs, but after being mistaken for a grandmother, I now wonder if some intervention is in order to at least look my age.

I'm not afraid of getting older or the physical changes that go with it, but I also don't wish to look older than my years. I've long eschewed hair dyes and other "anti-aging" products, considering them a form of self-denial (or fear) over one's advancing age, but now I must confess that the grandmother comment makes me reconsider the role that these products play in our lives. I remain on the fence about them, but at least I'm willing to give new consideration to these options as a way to temper my slowly changing features.