A good wrinkle

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, Claire looked at me and said, “Don’t make a bad wrinkle, Momma.  Make a good wrinkle!”

“What?” I asked her, confused.

“A bad wrinkle!  You have a bad wrinkle,” and she pointed to my forehead.  “Make a good wrinkle!”

I couldn’t help but smile, because I’d actually figured out what she meant, but I was shocked that she’d noticed.

And she said, “Like that!  Yes.  That’s a good wrinkle!”

She was talking about those lines I get between my eyebrows when I frown:  Two little vertical lines that she must correlate with Momma not being happy.

Luckily, our life is full of laughter, but sometimes I frown without even knowing it.  Sometimes I frown for obvious reasons, but sometimes I frown when I’m concentrating or when I’m confused.  Even with all the laughter, do you know how much concentration and confusion surrounds me and my preschooler?  A lot.  Apparently.  I’ve not stopped concentrating, and I’ve learned to roll with the confusion, but I’ve been consciously working on raising my eyebrows.

You see, I get horizontal wrinkles, “good wrinkles,” on my forehead when I raise my eyebrows.  And, those good wrinkles are a sure sign that I’m happy.

And, when Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. 

Kids are so perceptive.  They see things we don’t even see in ourselves.  I furrow my brows when I concentrate.  I furrow my brows when I’m frustrated.  I furrow my brows when I’m angry.

And, those are bad wrinkles.  Nobody wants bad wrinkles.

A lot of this goes hand in hand with things I’ve learned from my previous lives.  The Social Worker and Counselor in me is always cognizant of showing an open stance.  Crossed arms are not welcoming.  A nodding head is comforting.  Looking people in the eye, depending on which eye you look into, can give people a sense of calm or can be seen as a subconscious act of aggression.  Use it wisely.

The Salesperson in me smiles a lot.  I always smile when I’m on the phone.  The person you’re talking to can hear a smile.

Almost everything I ever learned in college and my previous jobs can be applied to my job now:  Full-time Toddler Wrangler.  Part of me had forgotten the importance of some of this stuff, but it all came crashing back into my head when it was revealed to me that I had a bad wrinkle.

Seeing these things written out makes it sound like my every move is calculated…but it’s not.  After years of doing these things they just become second nature.  But, apparently, I was starting to slack in the Bad Wrinkle Department.

And, the last thing I need is more wrinkles…let alone bad ones.