Dear LPG,

How many other readers of a certain age wonder just how they managed to get through so many decades so quickly?  Do you remember when school seemed as if it would go on forever, even though it comes to an end before you know it, and we find ourselves with so much to do that we seem to live so much of those lives of ours before realising how quickly we are passing through the years.  

I know so many people who are getting to their second decade of retirement without seriously realising how busy their lives are and how quickly the years continue to pass.  

We do get older, though, and while we continue to make the best of our changing looks, I bet many more of us reduce the number of times we look in the mirror daily. I know that I do my best with what I have, and after getting up, dressing, and being ready for the day, I take the final look to make sure that I am as prepared as I am ever going to be and greet the other people I will encounter.

 
This is all good because, without too many mirrors around, I still see myself as the me I have always known, although there is one constant reminder of how old I am getting.  

We all do so many things with our hands that our eyes have to oversee, and the wrinkles are undeniable. When you stretch your fingers out, you can see those lines that were never there before, and the reminder that they are looking older is ever present. 

I have to admit to never really making the time to use hand cream after washing them because there was always the next thing to do and no time to waste, but now, I think those same hands are paying the price for my neglect.  

I followed the pandemic code to keep them clean, and I am proud to say that this habit has stuck with me. However, that means that they still encounter water more than ever these days.  

I have tried the expensive hand creams that claim to reverse the damage without any visible improvement. I now have hand cream in a pot next to the soap dish in the bathroom and the washing-up liquid in the kitchen, and I do use it much more often these days, but perhaps it is a case of too little, too late.

I recently discovered some interesting recipes on YouTube and am working through them.  I have found some concoctions designed to improve the look of the back of your hands, proving surprisingly easy to do.  A lot of the ingredients are already in most kitchen cupboards. If I make the remedies myself, I might be inspired to use them. It is also a fact that many of the preparations include store cupboard ingredients with limited shelf life, which will also be a reason to pay more attention to improving what I see when I am busy doing something with them.

It may be in my imagination, but now that I have started using my hands to do something for them, I can see a slight improvement, so it may be time to share what I have learned.  

CW, Catford 

CW passes on a little of what she has learned…

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