I Am Naming My New Wrinkle Helen

I have a new wrinkle… a thin line running from one eyebrow to the other.  I suspect she formed in response to my frequent squinting, which was the unavoidable result of aging eyes still longing to enjoy fine print.  She is still a subtle element on my face, unlike the laugh lines that now remain firmly affixed even when I am sombre and utterly un-amused.

At the time of their development, I named my laugh lines Thelma and Louise in honour of their wild abandon.  Thelma and Louise announce my devilish wit to the world and proclaim that I laugh more than I frown.  This is a worthy accomplishment because in every woman’s life it is sometimes difficult to choose the former over the latter.  Although they have complicated the application of eye shadow, I have grown fond of Thelma and Louise and can no longer imagine my face without them.  How flat and charmless it would be without my ‘crinkles’.

I must admit that I am still on the fence when it comes to my new wrinkle.  Not sure if she adds character or just years.  She is a complicated creature, born not just from squinting but also from a lifetime of worrying, first about boys, then about jobs, money, children, and now aging.  She verifies the existence a side of myself that I generally prefer not to show the world… the part that thinks a bit too hard and cares a bit too deep.    But she’s a also a sign of intelligence.  Better to think too hard than not at all! 

I have decided to name my new wrinkle Helen, in honour of the accomplished actress Helen Mirren.   Ms Mirren is articulate, out-spoken, and unapologetic about her life choices.  And that is what I want my new wrinkle, Helen, to represent, at least to me.  To everyone else I suppose she will be just another line on a middle-aged face.

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