IS THAT REALLY ME?
WRITTEN BY: H.V.HENDRICK AND JANET FELTNER
FORWARD
Sitting in the kitchen the other day, having coffee with my best friend of some 20+
years, we were enjoying the break in our daily lives. Suddenly, Janet,my best friend said, “I’ve
got a great idea for your next book!” She was right.
This book is a co-ordinated effort between myself and Janet. We are both over 50 now
and we have both looked into the mirror and wondered... “Is that really me?”
CHAPTER 1
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
When we are about 13 years old, life is fun, full of expectations, dreams, thoughts of
love, dating, what outfits to wear, what jeans are cool, etc. At about 15 or 16 we are anxious to
start driving, its that ultimate right of passage, into pre-adulthood. Around 18, we still have our
cute little figures, and are anticipating graduating from high school, possibly entering into a
college, perhaps we may even be looking at marriage. Even so, we have the world by the tail.
We look into the mirror and see a young, vivacious girl with perky breasts, a waist that can
fashionably wear a belt if we want, tight fitting jeans or short shorts. Long, slender legs, smooth
as silk and perfectly defined.
At 21 we are “legal”! Legal to drink if we want, we can enter into binding contracts,
even legal to make major adult decisions. Whoopee!! We may have put on a couple of pounds
from all that starchy college mess hall food and fast food that tends to start accumulating in the
form of slight love handles, wider hips and fuller thighs. But we still have those perky breasts.
We look pretty good. We feel pretty good.
Thoughts of bad cholesterol, high blood pressure, varicose veins, arthritis, Grey hair, and
a low sodium diet are no where in the sight of our thoughts,dreams or even in our reality. We
are young, beautiful, perky, energetic, healthy and desired by men. We, ladies, have the world
by the tail! Fast forward...we are now 30. Probably married with a child or two, breasts aren’t
near as perky but still not in too bad of shape. The “baby fat” is lingering around the hips and
waist and the energy level is about 1/8 to ¼ of what is was 10 years ago. We have schedules to
keep, play dates to make, PTA meetings, soccer games, ballet classes, business meetings, jobs,
careers, supper to prepare, skinned knees to kiss and make feel better, a mortgage to pay, bills to
maintain, and by 10:00pm we literally fall into bed. “Make love? Tonight? Are you kidding?
I’m exhausted!” 10 years into the future at 40, we schedule with our spouses a time and date to
spend some quality, intimate time together; perhaps even twice a month, if he’s lucky. The kids
are wanting to learn to drive, still involved in sports, school events, their friends, etc. You are
the Taxi! Your job/career is more demanding than ever, you don’t eat right, McDonald’s is your
favorite restaurant and Rolaids your favorite dessert. Those cute little jeans that you’ve had
since you were 22 that always made your husband swoon....well....you can’t even zip them up if
you lay down flat. You’re finding it extremely difficult to even paint your toe nails (if and when
you have the time)because that kangaroo pouch you have in your lower abdomen (left over
from baby making days). You notice that you’ve been using more creams, moisturizers and
foundation make-up to hide the dark circles under your eyes from lack of restful sleep and
stress, and Lady Clairol is becoming your best friend.
You’re 50! About 20-30+ pounds over weight, you’ve got a chicken neck and chicken
wing upper arms, spider veins on your legs, breasts are saggy and soft, and suddenly the “laugh
lines” at the corners of your eyes aren’t so funny anymore.
The alarm goes off at 5 am., you roll out of bed, sleepily pour a cup of coffee, maybe
even light up a cigarette, sit at the table and speculate on the day ahead of you. The bathroom is
the beginning of your morning routine. That’s when it happens...you step out of the shower and
into the full length mirror. A loud shriek is heard throughout the neighborhood. There...staring