Beauty to Wisdom

I’m delayed with my post this morning, because I had a first thing in the morning (first thing in the morning appointments are part of my “false sense of security”, avoiding coronavirus strategy) dermatologist appointment. All of this time we’ve had at home, has allowed me to notice more things. I’ve noticed a lot things around our home that need to be fixed, cleaned up and upgraded. I’ve noticed that as much as I don’t love cooking, I do love home cooked meals, and I’ve noticed all sorts of interesting marks and patterns all over my skin, seemingly growing and changing on a daily basis.

When I was a young girl, the moles on my skin were called “beauty marks” by my family. I wore them proudly, enjoying the idea that every part of my body was sprinkled with a little bit of beauty. Also, when I was a young girl, sunscreen was not considered to be vital. In fact, I was more likely to use a whole bottle of baby oil on my skin than any sunscreen. Thankfully, I was raised in Pennsylvania, so my skin is not quite as ravaged by the sun, had I been raised here in Florida. Still, my chest definitely looks worse for the wear. Today, my dermatologist called my moles/beauty marks . . . “wisdom marks.” Let me tell you, I have a whole, big and busy map of wisdom on my chest. I am one wise woman! I find it interesting that when “beauty marks” age they are called “wisdom marks”. My husband’s dermatologist calls my husband’s moles, “barnacles.” I’ll stick with “wisdom marks.”

I was very relieved that my doctor saw no signs of skin cancer. I told her that I was kind of bothered that my beauty/wisdom marks had gotten kind of puffy, like little brown chocolate muffins. She told me to leave them alone; that moles just get kind of plump as we age. The dermatologist did mention that by the time I am in my late seventies, my age marks should flatten out and get skinny again. I wonder if that will be the case for my whole body?! I hope not. I’d rather be less puffy, right now. However if I’m honest with myself, the coronavirus quarantine hasn’t helped much with the flattening effect on anything on my body – quite the opposite actually. I’m not going to worry about that fact too much today, though. For today, I am going to relish in resting and living in my beautiful suit of pure, puffy WISDOM.