Describe your physical self

Week 3 - Describe your physical self

When I look in the mirror I see a dark haired, dark eyed, chubby, middle aged lady. How did I get here? I don't feel like a senior citizen, but I sometimes qualify for senior discounts.  If I live to be 90 years old, I will have already lived over 2/3's of my life.

I am around 5'5" tall.  That's not real short, but it's not real tall either.  I have short legs on my normal torso.  When buying clothes, I buy regular length dresses and petite length pants.  I used to be a smoker, when I was smoking I wore a size 14-16; when I quit smoking the weight piled on.  Now I'm a size 18 and trying my darndest not to get any bigger.  

Except for when I was a young child, I have always been chubby. Being the third daughter, I wore lots of hand-me-downs.  That stopped as I approached my teenage years.   I am taller than my 2 sisters - they were both petite in height and in width. When I was junior high, I was wearing chubby girls size 13.  When I was in high school I wore a size 10-12;  my older sisters were wearing size 6 and size 8's. The same size difference existed in our bust line.  My sisters were wearing trainers and I was in C cups (if and when I wore a bra).

I am built differently as well. My sisters had a normal hour glass shape.  I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian syndrome) an endocrine metabolic disorder that causes infertility. Women with PCOS usually have a thick waist and a large body Mass Index (BMI). Slacks that are designed to fit a "normal" body are too tight in the waist for me.  I usually wear elastic waist pants - if it fits over the hips, it will fit in the waist.

I have always looked younger than my chronological age...perhaps it is my round face and fat cheeks.  When I was a 19 year old WAC, a group of us went to a restaurant and ordered drinks.  I was the oldest and the only one carded. When I was about 35, I was at a night club with some girl friends where I was asked if I was in college.  I no longer look like I'm in college, but I don't have wrinkles on my face or much grey in my hair (although the hair dresser touches up my hair line every 2-3 months).

I've never been a girly-girl.  When I was in college, I had a 7:40 morning class as ASU. I could be up and out of the house in less than 30 minutes.  When I was about 40, I developed an allergy to makeup.  When I would wear eye makeup, my eye lids would get all crusty; the resulting fluid back up would result in swollen lids.  I finally gave up wearing makeup except for special occasions - I gave up mascara and eye liner all together.  I have also given up wearing perfume.  

With the ups and downs with my weight, my rings sometimes fit and sometimes don't.  They were bothering me so I finally just took them off and quit wearing them.  I don't change my jewelry, so I wear a small emerald necklace and some gold earrings.  I have one set a ear piercings.  When I was 16, I wanted to get my ears pierced, but my mom said I couldn't get it done until I was 18.  My dad was gone on a trip to Mexico.  He came home with pierced ear rings for my two older sisters and a pair for me as well.  So it wasn't long before I was down getting my ears pierced as well.  Later my mom got her ears pierced as well.

My hands and feet are on the small size.  I wear size 7.5 medium shoes - comfortable shoes.  I'm not into pointy toes and stiletto’s and I'm sure my feet thank me for it.  My favorite shoes are Nike Mary Janes which Nike has quit making.  I have tried several replacements and all were a disappointment.  I don't know what I'm going to do when these Nikes are so worn out that I have to throw them away.

I have been a casual dresser for quite some time.  When I first moved to Orlando in 1985, I would wear a suit to work sometimes with a hat.  That always got a reaction. As time went one, my work clothes got more casual. About 1994 I transferred to the Ocala plant as their MIS coordinator. One day while wearing a dress, I ended up on my hands and knees under a work bench looking for a computer ID tag.  That was the last time I wore a dress to work.  Around the turn of the century, Lockheed Martin adopted a casual dress code.  Now that I'm retired, you can usually find me in a t-shirt and denim shorts or sweats in the dead of winter.  I seldom wear a dress and have to hunt the closet for something appropriate on the few occasions where a dress is required.

When I was in 7th grade, I ended getting my first pair of eye glasses to correct my near sightedness and astigmatism.  When I was in high school, my dad traded favors with a friend.  He got contacts for my sister Shirley and I.  These were the old hard contact lenses.  I wore them until they finally came out with soft lenses.  I got soft lenses for comfort before they had the toric lenses that would correct the astigmatism.  I could see things even if they were a bit fuzzy on the edges.  

Around 1994, I had an eye infection.  I was still living in Orlando, but working in Ocala.  I had a hard time getting to the doctor because the Ocala doctors weren't on my health care plan.  I ended up going to a walk-in clinic.  Then end result was I stopped wearing my contacts and never put them back in after that.  Around 2010 I had Lasik surgery. It fixed my astigmatism and my near sightedness.  Now I only need correct lenses for reading and computer work. In order words, I almost always need my reading glasses. So I got a cord for the glasses and they hang around my neck from morning to night unless they're on my face.

On the farm where I grew up we drank well water - there was no fluoride in the water. Before I was 16 years old, I had fillings in all my molars.  My mouth was small, so my teeth were crowded and overlapping.  When I was a kid, I would go to the dentist and he would pull my baby teeth early to make room for the next set of permanent teeth. It didn't help.  My mouth was a mess.  

I received some help from a young Army dentist who was approaching the end of his enlistment.  He said if I had "crossed eye teeth" the military would pay for the treatment - the treatment was identical to what was needed to fix my teeth. The paperwork he submitted allowed him to performed the necessary work without any costs to me.  He pulled a tooth on my lower left side. He then ordered an appliance which was similar to a retainer.  It had wires to apply pressure to move the teeth around.  It make a large improvement in my lower teeth.  

When I was at Fort Meade, I have my wisdom teeth removed (only 3 came in).  This military dentist was a lifer and that is NOT a compliment.  They started an sodium pentothal IV and my arm started burning.  It wasn't in the needle wasn't in the vein and all the solution was going into the tissue.  For months my arm bothered me.  Then they started work and it went on forever.  It went on so long, I started coming to.  It was so painful, I was crying and they didn't even realize I was coming to even though they remarked about my tears.  During my recovery, I ended up with a dry socket.  Needless to say, it wasn't a pleasant experience. After I left the service I found several wonderful dentists who helped improve my oral health. 

I don't have a lot of scars or birthmarks.  I have one strawberry mark on one of my shoulders.  My sister Shirley used to tease me and call it a hickie.  I ended up with skin cancer on nose.  The dermatologist had to cut 4 layers of tissue to get it all, she replaced it was a skin graft taken in front of my ear.  It healed very nicely, and unless you know I had the surgery, you probably wouldn't be able tell that it was done.  I don't spend a lot of time out in the sun.  I don't like getting hot.  Now it appears it is a good thing because besides the cancer on my nose, I have had a second spot removed from my shoulder.  

I suppose if I could choose one thing to change, it would be my weight. But I tend to be an optimist, a glass half full.  I am health.  I am happy.  I have a great life.  So if my biggest problem is a few extra pounds, I'm in great shape.