Auto maintenance is complicated enough remembering oil changes, tire rotations and radiator flushes, but personal maintenance makes car maintenance look easy.  The older I get the more complicated the plan.  My friend Gary says for him, staying alive has turned into a full time job.

It seems every month some body part needs a check up.  I’m so glad the dentist, eye doc and GYN send out friendly reminders because what seems to have been a couple of months ago might have been a year ago in real time.

I schedule hair salon appointments six months at a time.  My stylist calls it a maintenance plan of sorts.  Then there is the manicure/pedicure and eyebrow care to remember.  No one sends a cute post card in the mail about those.  

The daily routine is what takes so much time. The makeup remover, cleanser, toner, moisturizer and nighttime moisturizer take up a whole row in my cabinet.  And that’s just to get everything off I put on every morning.  

I was stunned to learn Americans spend 7 billion dollars a year on beauty products! I suppose I shouldn’t be.  I can spend $100.00 at Walmart without even trying out new and improved age defying products as they hit the market. If you dare visit the cosmetics department in a department store, in no time a whole house payment can be spent on make up, creams, and potions.

I suppose beauty routines are as old as time.  Think about the hours Cleopatra must have spent getting her face on every day.  Some mornings I consider skipping the routine, but then I look in the mirror and change my mind.  I’d hate to frighten small children.