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I absolutely adore the full length mirror at the women’s restroom at work. It reminds me of the funny mirrors at the carnivals that morphed your body into unnatural shapes. But there is nothing natural about this mirror.
The Skinny Mirror
Every time I walk from the stall to the sink, I just love watching my body move in that mirror. I appear 10 pounds skinnier and more graceful. Others have commented about the skinny mirror as well. It makes them look more youthful, taller, and thinner.
I thought maybe it was the way the skinny mirror was mounted on the wall. But when I measured the gap on the foot of the mirror with the tallest height my hand can reach, I could not find any measureable displacement. Maybe it was the lighting from the skylights. Maybe it was magic.
The Ugly Mirror
But when I look at the skinny mirror’s stepsisters mounted on top of the sinks, I want to claw my eyes out. Like the jealous stepsisters in fairy tales spewing bitterness and resentment, they gave me a glimpse of how I will look in the future.
My black hair is no longer glossy. It looks dull and silvery. Instead of having a glow and looking more youthful than my 30 years, my skin looks blotchy with more eye bags and crease lines than my mother. Even my teeth looked yellowed and stained. Is this crone in the ugly mirror me? If I hunch over and hold up an apple, will I be mistaken for the crone in Snow White?
What We See is Not Always Reality
These two mirrors remind me that sometimes what I see is not reality. The ethereal image in the skinny mirror is not the normal me, but neither is the ugly mirror. And yet, both of them stir up deep emotion inside of me. I keep wanting to smile at myself in the skinny mirror and cringing away from the ugly mirror. Is this how I feel about beautiful and ugly people? I never knew such emotions can exist within me.
After a washing my hands, I need to spend a few seconds looking at the ethereal image in the skinny mirror before I can leave the restroom. I will not let the ugly mirror dictate my mood for the next hour.
Until next time and thanks for stopping by.
Photo by BigTallGuy.
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