Decadence? or Desperation?

Lately, when I look into the mirror, I don't see her.

Truthfully, I haven't seen her in a long time, but recently I've been seeing her.

Which is why I found myself at the dermatologist's office today, stretched out on a rather comfy table waiting to be peeled.  What?  I'm not a banana or a grape!  I don't need peeling, or do I?

I'm definitely not a clothes horse and don't spend a lot on fashion.  Normally, I am the one who says "Halt!" to what I perceive as silly expenditures, especially for myself, but I have noticed that the list of essentials has gotten longer in the past few years.  First it was a monthly manicure, followed by acrylic nails that needed filling every two weeks.  Boy, did I love those nails!  Worth twice the price any day. 

Then came the monthly pedicure.  Well, you can't have ugly feet in strappy sandals, can you?  And all that dry skin in the winter.  Pedicures are surely a necessity.

We aren't even going to mention hair cuts.  There is absolutely no vanity involved with a hair cut.

A monthly massage helps keep one supple and works out the aches and pains of life in the, ahem, middle years.  If I am going to continue to dance and play tennis, then obviously I need to keep my back and shoulders happy and a massage makes my whole body happy.  It's almost as good as - well ... you know - and leaves me just as relaxed and sleepy.

But, have I crossed the line when I am paying someone to put acid on my face to peel back a few years?  The jury is out on this one and probably will be for several more days. It only took a few minutes.  I left with my face feeling a little prickly, but it's not an unpleasant feeling.  Lots of lotion for the next couple of days, so that will be nice, too.  And, then the hope is for newer, fresher skin after the old, dry stuff is gone.

I also got the retinol moisturizer to follow up.  It doesn't make sense to spend money on the peel and then not maintain it - right?  At this point I don't know ... was it a decadent waste of money?  [I did pay only half price!]  Was it a desperate attempt to call back the past?  or was it simply Doing the best I can with what I have.  Time will tell.