It's like Joni Mitchell once said, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." True for parking lots and Mother Nature, also true for the vagaries of the human face, so plumped up with youthful dew in the flower of adolescence, yet so unappreciated.
Had a ball over on Facebook the other day. Old friends had posted equally old photos of our younger selves doing ridiculous things and we had a good time kibbitzing back and forth about how silly we were and, more than anything else, how good we looked.
And we did. Look good, that is. Which is funny because I grew up with the absolute conviction that I was plain-bordering-on-ugly. Now I look at photos of my younger self and I could cry at how pretty that teenager was, and how on earth she couldn't know that.
In truth, I remember my teenaged angst. My high school had more than 2,000 students and amidst that crowd were many stand-outs, I mean raving beauties with Farrah Fawcett hair and faces like movie queens. When you walked the lockered halls with stunning young women like that, you knew your place as intrinsically as a 70% average on the math class bell curve.
Thirty-seven years later and the teenaged angst has been replaced by middle-aged angst and the high school beauty queens are battling their own demons, and all that remains are these photographs of a pretty young woman with a really great smile.
I wish I could tell her she didn't have to try so hard.
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| In the top photo, me and my friend Nicky on a night on the town, sometime in the mid-1970s. All these photos were taken by my friend Mark Champion who got a new Polaroid camera for Christmas. (Thanks Mark!) In this photo, me and my sister Liz in the living room of our Markham home. That couch was high fashion at the time! |
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| My Dad, Liz and me in the rec room of our Markham home. Dad had such great hair! He had refinished the basement himself, using real tongue-and-groove pine. |
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| Goofing around on Yonge St. in Toronto with my "date," Andrew Megarry. I often wonder what happened to Andrew. He was a really sweet young man. |
Oh to bring back those time and "delete" those wrinkles and other such unpleasant things... *smile*
ReplyDeleteI know, eh? Oh well...
DeleteYou have not really changed old gal x
ReplyDeleteHugs to you, dear John!
DeleteAll I know is that your young self puts her hand on that slung to the side hip just exactly like I imagine your present self doing all the time. Beautiful then, beautiful now. And we all wish we could tell our young selves not to try so hard, but then they might not have gotten us to where we are. :) Love and hugs to you.
ReplyDeleteOh Lou, so happy to hear from you! Hope you're doing OK - think about you and your Mom all the time and send you best wishes and love and hugs.
DeleteI'm sure that 15-20 years from now we will look at ourselves and think exactly the same of our 50s just like now we are thinking of our teens... Enjoy the moment now! http://www.fabulousafter40.com/
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right Eva!
DeleteGot to go along with this comment.....When we are old crows we will look at pictures of us at this moment in time and think "not bad girl".
DeleteEva's absolutely, positively right. I know I've been obsessing about looks lately - I think it's just because of my hair angst and the decision to go grey. I think the process of getting old is accepted by us in stages, with some uncomfortable bumps along the way that smooth out as we realize what you and Delores are saying is true.
DeleteJust think when we're dead - we'll be thinking how great we looked on our deathbed!!!!!!!!
Don't you love looking at old pics? I seem to remember seeing another certain photo of you on FB with a conversation bubble & accompanying illustrations. lol Didn't want to post it here eh? And you are STILL pretty!!!!! My but the teen years are rough aren't they? I look back at my yearbooks and everyone was a geek, even the 'pretty' ones.
ReplyDeleteHA! The fartleberry photo!!!! I AM going to post that one here, as a matter of fact, but I think it will accompany a post about making fun out of nothing, rather than obsessing on looks!!!!
Delete(That was WAY too much fun, JoJO, and you, my dear, were the main instigator!!!!!! Naturally!)
My kids saw some pics of me recently from when I was a teen, and they didn't believe it was me.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I offended you with the flash post. I did respond to your comment.
That's OK, Andrew. I did see your response. Don't sweat it! One thing's for sure, you always shoot straight from the hip!
DeleteWell, that's true. I'm good (bad?) that way. I kind of can't stand he way most people hedge and avoid because they're too scared to actually state what it is they believe/think.
DeleteI found an old picture of myself going off for the senior night's cruise. (A dinner on a boat in Boston Harbor... not a booze cruise. Just so we're clear) I thought it was hysterical so I brought it into work... my friend was shocked and said I looked like a Barbie doll. And she was right... 36 in hips, 22 inch waist (seriously I think my thighs are now 22" each) and a 42 inch chest. Long blond curly hair and blue eyes.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet, I never thought I could even turn one head.
*sigh*
Beauty really is wasted on the youth.
You WERE a Barbie doll, Juli! And you probably still are! Yes, beauty is wasted on the young. It would be nice to start out old and work backwards.
DeleteNah, not unless barbies need support hose and a solidly strapped brazier. :)
DeleteBesides... Tony is so much cuter than Ken, even though he can't rock an ascot.
You still look a lot like that though!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teen, I looked ten years old.
Alex, you STILL look like you're 10!
DeleteI could have written this post. All I can say is Snap. Our school was smaller, but there were still the goddesses, the demi-goddesses and the mortals. I considered myself right at the back of the mortal class.
ReplyDeleteWhile youth has some benefits - I wouldn't be a teenager again for any money. Far too much anxt and insecurity. Also far too much belief is bullsh#t, either of my own invention or someone elses.
I wouldn't either, E.C.!!!!
DeleteYou were lovely as a teen, but you're also one of those women who've only gotten more beautiful as you age. Lucky you! I'm so jealous!
ReplyDelete(Thanks for dropping by today and for voting. Much appreciated!)
Pffffff! Whatchoo smoking, Nancy???
Delete(You're welcome)
Wonderful pictures from long ago of a delightful and still-young woman. Thanks for sharing those, Cathy!
ReplyDeleteBlessings and Bear hugs.
Thanks for sharing, Cathy!
ReplyDeleteIt occurs to me how few photographs there are of me around. Usually I'm the one with the camera.