Random thoughts on moving, Preparation H and cursive handwriting

Researchers say a woman’s skin ages about 11 days every time she goes to bed without removing her makeup? So I am diligent about not doing that. You’ve read before – if you follow this blog regularly – that I spend a lot of money on skin care so I don’t have to spend a lot of money on makeup. If my skin is in good condition, I can attribute it to always cleansing my face before bedtime, using quality products morning and night, and having Lena’s genes. My mother’s skin was beautiful!

Last night I was tired enough that I just wanted to crawl into the bed. All I could think of was brushing my teeth and putting my worn out body in between those nice soft sheets, but I still needed to remove my makeup. I wasn’t in the mood to go through my skincare routine…it takes too long when I’m tired. I noticed a package of Preparation H Medicated Wipes with Aloe on the sink’s vanity. Hmmmmm… My sister uses Neutrogena Makeup Remover wipes to remove her makeup.

Wipes + Makeup That Needs To Be Removed = It Can’t Hurt To Try

The only thing it didn’t remove was my mascara. Now, I’m not recommending that you abandon your regular beauty routine and begin treating your face like a hemorrhoid, but when in a pinch, give it a go! (insert smile here)

Now that you know Preparation H isn’t just for hemorrhoids, keep reading…

Years ago one of my brothers told me that he used Preparation H on the sore results of removing an ingrown toenail and it healed up quickly. On my inquiry as to why he thought of using a hemorrhoid ointment on his toe, he said that it was red and hurt (“Preparation H shrinks swollen membranes…”). Plus he didn’t have any antibiotic ointment at the time. Same thing happened to me not long after that so I gave it a try and it really does work! Remember, it “…shrinks swollen membranes” quite well. Really! Disgusting, I know, but it worked.

Now if Preparation H worked on sore muscles, I’d be all set because I’ve spent the past seven days in Ohio, packing and unpacking…helping my sister and her husband move from a 12 room home into a small apartment in the Otterbein Retirement Community in Lebanon, Ohio. Brother-in-law Gary is retiring from 36 years of ministry in the West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church. My sister, Vangie, has been in poor health recently and wasn’t able to get any packing done on her own. Thanks to the efforts of many, the majority of the things were packed into boxes and moved about 5 miles from the parsonage to the new place. Movers arrived on Monday morning and that went quickly. One of the reasons my brother-in-law thinks it went smoothly is because I had printed out stickers reading “Yes” or “No” and after cutting them up, I taped them to the appropriate items. The “Yes” stickers were assigned to the furniture and boxes that should go on the moving van. The “No” stickers were for things that are not being moved until Saturday morning. The movers had everything on their truck within 45 minutes! And now it is time for the furniture wearing “No” stickers to be loaded onto a U-Haul truck and transported to our homes in Virginia and Tennessee. And I’m driving the truck! This will be a new adventure!

For the most part, we have their new apartment looking like “home” as we continue to put things in their proper places. I have carried furniture, packed boxes and hurt in muscles that I forgot I had, but spending this time with my sister and brother-in-law has been special. We’ve worked hard, laughed and made some new memories. After an exhausting five days, we have enjoyed a little rest today and I’ve had the opportunity to rummage through some letters (on her invitation) that my sister saved…letters I had written to her while she was in college. Those letters from a 16-year-old girl revealed a lot to the 57-year-old woman I am today. They contained details of my days and nights, heartthrobs and heartaches, and all the things that were important to me those many years ago. I even got creative in the way I wrote to her. One was a letter written within letters…the entire page had the word “DEAR” on it with my letter to her written inside the D, the E, etc. I recall another letter I wrote to her in a circle. That one was weird. I also noticed that I was trying out new styles of cursive, but always ending up with the same style I’ve always had: slanted and a nice mix between both my parents’ handwriting. I don’t try new styles of cursive anymore…I have my own style.

Sometimes when I try to read my hurried handwriting, I think I should have been a doctor.


Never forget…if you have a pulse, you have a purpose. Make your life count.