Botox vs Growing Old Gracefully

Modern medicine has given us a giant eraser on the the top of the pencil of life. Botox injections can now wipe away the lines and wrinkles on our faces as fast as Mother Nature draws them. If a patient is willing to part with his/her hard earned cash and sit still while being stuck in the face, their wrinkles are a thing of the past. The baby boomer generation has once again declared that the rules of life and nature won't apply to them. They can out last, out work and out earn any generation in history- or so they would like to believe.

Consider what happens when the used car dealer applies a fresh coat of paint and rolls back the odometer on a car with significant wear and tear. Along comes a hopeful buyer believing this car really "was only driven by a little old lady on the weekends." The new owner is stunned when after driving 1,500 miles he needs a new transmission, master cylinder and radiator! He certainly was not prepared for that! How can this car look so great and still be falling apart?
Unfortunately the baby boomers are setting themselves up for the same kind of stunner! There is a reason we get wrinkles slowly over a period of time. It's natures way of telling us we are entering a new phase of life.

On any journey we take, there are road signs to direct us to the exit of our final destination. As we get closer, the signs get larger and contain more information. Information we need. Wrinkles are our road signs. Slow down, you can't take the exit ramp at 65 miles an hour. That speed was OK 50 miles back but not now. There are great points of interest to see, a zoo, museum or restaurant. We can speed by and miss them all or we can take a break and enjoy them and the journey a lot more. People are proud when they smack a sign on their car that proclaims they have been to the Grand Canyon, climbed Mt. Washington and eaten at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Wrinkles on our face say we've been through the greatest challenges of life and have survived! We've made the car payments, stayed up all night worrying about our jobs, our kids and parents and are still here to talk about it. Wrinkles are our diplomas display them proudly.

What do the wrinkle- free baby boomers do when confronted with a supreme life challenge ? Do they seek out the slim, fresh face of youth for advice and counsel or do they instinctively look for someone with the age, education and life experience to insure they will beat the challenge? A serious medical diagnosis sends us looking for a board certified doctor with the longest track record of successful outcomes. Does the fact that this life saving help comes from someone with wrinkles, grey hair and a paunch deter them? Absolutely not! Why then do they believe they will be less appreciated and valued for making the choice to grow old gracefully?

It seems to me it's time the boomers need a new mantra when it comes to wrinkles,
"Don't erase... embrace!"