It is often said that beauty depends on symmetry.
Sadly, nothing about me is symmetrical
Is it something that happens in the womb, I wonder? Or do we use one side more than the other through life?
Certainly my right side seems doomed to wear out quicker than the left. I wonder if this is related to being right-handed, or something else entirely.
An early indicator of my lopsidedness was my right knee which started giving me gyp during one of my pregnancies. Since then, its twinges come and go but it hasn’t developed in the way that my right hip has. This is now officially disintegrating, but I have known for a long time that I would suffer from arthritis in my later years. Since my forties, I’ve had those knobbly knuckles on my fingers that presage arthritis, mostly on my right hand.
Not only the knobbly fingers. An annoying little ganglion has taken up residence on the right hand middle finger, and my formerly strong fingernails have for some years now shown a tendency to split on the third finger of – you guessed it – my right hand. Now, its little fingernail is joining in. The left hand’s nails are still going strong.
An itchy skin patch has developed behind my right ear, and moles under my chin that sprout hair grow mostly on the right. (Why is it that hair starts sprouting more vigorously where it’s not wanted at the same time as the hair on my head thins?)
My eyes have always differed from each other. The left used to be short-sighted while the right was long-sighted, but, between them, they worked well. I could read those little maps of the London Underground without needing specs and consult my A-Z of London while in a traffic jam (in the days before the SatNav. Thank heavens for the SatNav).
As my vision declines, the short-sighted left eye is now long-sighted (which, I gather, is the usual geriatric direction) while the right eye is merely hazy at any distance.
I’m only thankful that my heart is situated to the left.
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Is anyone else out there curving sideways as they age?
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Writing Wrinkles, and Random Ramblings 
You are not alone Cathy. With me it is my left side that is deteriorating fastest, possibly because I am left handed who knows? Yet whilst it is deteriorating faster my left side is also my strongest side. Again possibly because I have always used it most and the muscles on that side of my body have received the bigger workout while my right side has definitely had an easier time. So yes, I’m lopsided and deteriorating slowly but surely. Dread to think what I’ll look like in years to come as I’m starting to shrink heightwise too. So if you see a short lopsided old woman it will probably be me.
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That’s interesting – that our dominant sides seem to be deteriorating fastest. My right leg is also still stronger than my left, in spite of the arthritis – or maybe it’s because of the exercises. I never bothered to compare them before. I’ve found that trying to walk without limping has me hunching over, so I’m now trying to stay upright, shoulders back, soldier-style and find it hurts my front thigh.
Now why is it my thigh that hurts, when it’s my hip that’s disintegrating?
If I ever get to that physiotherapy I’ve been signed up to since February, I’ll ask someone.
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I can empathise with this Jane x
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First of all, when they (whoever they is) say that beauty depends on symmetry they’re not talking about the body. They are referring to the face. They’re talking about the symmetry of the jawline, a nose that is not bumpy or round, but is pretty straight and eyes aligned just so. This is what is called classic beauty and is very pleasing to the eye.
When I look at your face I see symmetry. You have an even jawline, your face is neither too long nor too short. Unlike me. My face is longer than it needs to be for that symmetry. Your eyes are evenly spaced, and even though your nose isn’t perfectly straight (meaning more round at the end) that’s okay. I”ve come to forgive you for your lack of perfect beauty. In other words, you don’t look like a googly eyed Ms Potato Head.
Much of what you’re talking about in your blog post has to do with having one side of the body being more dominant than the other. With that I completely know what you are getting at.
I’m left-handed and I’ve noticed all my life how I favor the left side because of it. When I walk I step harder on my left leg and foot than my right. This means that the bottom of my left shoe will always wear out before the bottom of my right shoe.
The hair on the left side of my scalp was always thicker (before menopause came along and took the majority of my hair). My left side is definitely more coordinated and stronger. The eyesight in my left eye is definitely much more acute.
When I was about 7 and my mom made me take ballet lessons. As a side note, she didn’t do this because she loved me. She did this because she wanted to change me. I was very much a tom boy.
Whenever I attempted a pirouette, I favored turning from right to left. Going the other way was very awkward.
I must mention here that I will forever remember until the day I die the plié and the port de bras. Surprisingly, I loved ballet. It made me feel in touch with my little 7 year old body. It felt so good to come in and stand at the barre (because I was only 7, everything was alcohol free), assume our positions and go through our steps. If I had kept at it, I’m sure I would have made it as a Prima Donna! I would have been terrific in “The Nutcracker”, except in my case, it would have been simply called, “The Nutcase”. Admittedly, I do have delusions of grandeur every now and then. Who am I kidding? I AM a Prima Donna! Enough reminiscing!
Talk about dry patches! On the backs of each of my thighs there is a large dry area. It feels like the Sahara Desert on each back thigh. There are countless little scars all over my body. Some due to accidents as a child. Other’s due to surgeries I’ve had as an adult.
I discovered something very interesting in my mouth some years ago. The bone on the left side of my palate is formed slightly differently than that of the right side of my palate. When I was younger I had all my wisdom teeth removed – or so I thought. When I was in my 40s I discovered a rogue wisdom tooth growing. I went to the dentist to get it removed and I asked them to x-ray my mouth to see if there were any others under the surface of the gums. There were no more. Just that one.
My waist on my right side has a different curvature than on my left side.
I better stop here. I don’t want to give away all my secrets 😎
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Facially speaking, I seem to have one eye slightly higher and one ear (which I have to adjust my specs to accomodate) but I never knew this till my fifties when I started needing specs.
My gran used to say ‘Don’t get old, kids.’
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I was told that a lot as a child too!
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She never did list any alternatives…
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I remember when I was first told that, I thought ‘Well, what am I to do?’
I didn’t want to think about the alternative 😕
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Mmm, can’t say I’ve noticed. I’ve had both hips replaced and my nails on both hands have deteriorated in the past decade, splitting and breaking, in spite of taking vitamin D. ( That’s for the lack of sunlight and deficiency of vitamin D in my body) This year I switched the side I part my hair and like it. Nope, I think I’m ok
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It only became noticeable since I started disintegrating 😦 . As my gran used to say… ‘Don’t get old.’
(Although, come to think of it, she never went into alternatives in any detail…)
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Funnily enough, although I am right-handed it is my left side that has suffered. I fell downstairs some 30 years ago, headfirst and damaged my left shoulder – something I am paying for even as I write; I now find I have to lift my left forearm with my right hand to get my right hand on the keyboard. I fell out of the bath in October – onto my left side, naturally, and fractured my femur. The physio game me elbow crutches which have exacerbated the historic shoulder injury…..on the left side.
Fortunately I can still drive; having an automatic car the only time I need to worry about changing gear are times when the car is at a standstill anyway.
Needless to say, I haven’t been up any ladders putting up Christmas decorations this year.
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Noooo ladders never were good – my balance has always been dodgy. Actualy I do have a dodgy should der too – on the left-hand side… but I know how I damaged that, lifting a too-heavy box when moving house. I did think it have healed itelf though after a few years… until everything else started complaining a couple of years ago. I prefer to sleep on that side as well, which doesn’t help 😦
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I started deteriorating after college – take heart and we will survive it all! Though in moans and groans 😉
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A growl stimulates the vagus nerve, which is apparently good for our wellbeing. (So is singing – more in a later post) .
…Although I suppose a purr would do the job as well
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Haha!! Garfield better start purring🤣🤣🤣
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