Perfect People

We can put on makeup to hide the flaws, do our hair just so and buy the best clothes for our body type to make us feel young and full of ourselves. We can drive a new car every year for the new car smell and take the top down as we race through the city that never sleeps. But as time goes by, we realize that we like routine and are set in our ways. Although we'd like to do more than the same five things every time, it's just too much drama to try.
We have bunions on our feet that maybe make our toenails grow crooked, our knees are a bit knobby and our chicken legs at times are a bit wobbly. There is extra skin around our waist from younger days of indulgence. Our skin gets that dry itch to it when the weather gets colder and we no longer like the humidity of the dog days of summer.
Our eyes grow weary in the low light that we used to think was romantic. Some of our teeth are missing but we supplement with dentures or partials so we can chew our food well so we don't choke. We learn CPR just in case. Doctor visits no longer consist of special pills to make us feel young but now are about the heart beating, the breath breathing and antacid tablets to quiet the ever escaping air. The things that hang below with gravity taking it's toll can make it feel like it's touching our knees. The things that hang above feel as if they hang to the waist when we slouch too much but standing straight has become a bit of an effort now.
Our stomachs rumble when we eat too much and gnaw when we don't bringing on a headache and crankiness. We grow hair in our nose, ears and on our toes and places where it wasn't before. We lose it where it was. Heaven forbid we should get and ingrown hair where the sun doesn't shine or other things growing there. A bathroom visit has to be now not five minutes or more from now.
Our bones creak more than our bed as we reminisce about the wonderful hormones we had ten years ago. The earth shattering ka-booms are now mere firecrackers but that's okay because there are times when we barely have enough energy to think let alone make love. The times we do have for intimacy are short lived because our lives are full and there is always some sort of distraction.
When we grow tired, a chill comes over us and overwhelming fatigue hits us like the door we didn't see. We shiver as we turn up the heat and pull two or three blankets up to our chin. To just lie next to someone when we fall asleep is enough for most days. Just knowing that there is going to be someone there to care for us if we pass in our sleep is comfort for the soul.
We take vitamins and oogle at the beautiful body that just walked by trying to hang on to the last bit of youth that remains inside. We grow uneasy at times when older folk walk by holding their canes in arthritic hands, some alone and some with their loves. Their hair thinned and spots on their skin, some with a toothless grin smiling a knowing smile that you'll be here someday.
We work and we sweat and we exercise to try and turn back the time but all that gets us is sore muscles we'd forgotten we had. Our jobs become our lives defining who we are. Time races past us faster and faster now and we wonder why the sunset doesn't last longer. We are in the Autumn of our lives and Winter will catch up with us eventually.
It doesn't sadden us because everyday we are a little older, a little wiser, and have little children that we can sugar up and send home. We have friends that are good and some that are great. If we are lucky, we have made a few friends along the way that are keepers.
So I don't care if there is flab and sag. I don't care about the wrinkles on faces that tell the story of life. I don't care if the ride turns into a slow walk as long as I take that walk with you because underneath it all...we are all just perfect people.