Sal, I know that you are like me in that you still feel as if you look like that pic..I am always shocked when i see my image in a reflection or a photo. I am trying to tell myself that it doesn't matter that I look like my mom did the year she passed...I'm still here, and I am trying to keep a smile on my face and a sense of gratitude for waking up each morning...
but when DH tells me I'm beautiful, I look at him like he is crazy...all the while seeing the 16 year old in his eyes that I fell in love with when we started "going steady" 45 years ago...