As I leaned over to kiss my daughter good night last night, she reached up and started rubbing her fingers lightly on my forehead. “What’s this, Daddy?” she said. I assumed it was a stray piece of fuzz or perhaps some errant mac and cheese from earlier in the evening. It soon became apparent, though, that she was commenting on the wrinkles adorning my forehead. Ouch.
Later on, I took a look in the mirror and made a variety of facial expressions to see which produced the offending lines. Perhaps I smile so much that I have wrinkles on my forehead. That would be unfortunate, but tolerable. Nope. Well, then, perhaps I FROWN too much. So I frowned at myself in the mirror, but that wasn’t the case, either.
I finally figured it out. The wrinkles kick in when I look surprised — when my face looks like Buckwheat from the Little Rascals, when he is caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing or when he realizes something significant, but unexpected, has happened.
I’m not really sure what to make of this. Life is full of surprises, of course, but so many that my forehead would wrinkle up? What’s more, the surprises in my life have tended NOT to be of the immediate, forehead-wrinkling variety — “Your hair is on fire!” or “I’m sleeping with the mailman!”
Instead, they’ve been surprises that have become clear over time. Being a parent isn’t easy. Staying in touch with friends, even the very best ones, is hard. I’m not going to be famous. All of these things surprise me, or used to anyway. And, apparently, they make my forehead wrinkle.
Tags: wrinkles
December 23, 2007 at 12:13 am |
If Ruffles have ridges, do “crackers” have wrinkles? Ixnay on the acismray.
That said . . . Bo Knows Tox.
December 27, 2007 at 2:58 am |
I like the character. Otherwise, well you’d look like a plastic sales rep!
In my estimation, those specific wrinkles are the ones earned by the expression you give while listening to people. It’s one of “you are so interesting”, “I’m with you”….
Making people feel like you are listening to them and and that what they say is interesting to you, is one of your gifts…. don’t lose that brother!
November 10, 2008 at 4:17 am |
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