Every year I notice that I am getting more and more wrinkles at the corners of my eyes. It used to bother me, because it is an ever-present reminder that I am getting older. No matter how many creams or cucumbers I try, the wrinkles are always there. I used to hate seeing those wrinkles, hate what they represented, hate to admit that I am no longer in my twenties and soon no longer in my thirties either. Yes, I used to hate them...until...I realized what they truly represented.
Those wrinkles are not from age. Maybe the reason that my skin doesn't snap back into its smoothness is, but not the wrinkles. The wrinkles are from laughter. The etched lines of bunched cheeks that are pressed together by my huge and mirthful smile. Not once, but thousands of times throughout my life.
So, now when I see those wrinkles at the corners of my eyes, I am okay with them. Because those wrinkles mean that I was laughing too much. They represent all of the times that someone made me laugh. They represent all of the times that I made myself laugh. They represent all of the times that I made someone else laugh and couldn't help but laugh along with them. And that must mean that I have enjoyed my life.
