Cat Lady- too late for moderation :-(

When I see the "Cat Lady" it makes me sad. On the one hand I don't want to judge, on the other it's nearly too much to take not to say
s o m e t h i n g.

I came across her photo by chance while surfing. My son looking over my shoulder exclaimed, "Oh my God what happened to her face?" upon seeing the pic that one can only assume was taken from a distance with a very expensive zoom lens. The portrait reveals the taut, tanned skin pulled so tight that wrinkles are replaced by dimples. Her makeup looks tattooed onto her skin, so her features appear to be well, badly drawn. Her face actually looks crooked in a full body shot further down the page. My son begged me to not cast the pic again upon my laptop's screen.

I remember when the press first began to cover the Cat Lady. It may have been an episode of 20:20 that first sensationalized this story for me--don't hold me to that. But I decided to go back and see what she looked like before her remodeling began and she was for all purposes a foxy lady. I found this really interesting piece which summarizes her life and paints an astonishingly human look at the woman, Jocelyne Wildenstein. It would make you even think that love is what drove her to these years of self mutilation under the plastic surgeon's knife. Nay I say, it was an overabundance of insecurity that drove this fox into big cat territory.

Well, I don't want to go too far in on this woman. I see what happened and I sympathize for her. In the fact that she did something strange for love, and it got the best of her. (Raises hand) Been there! Many times we might say, well at least she's rich. But can you imagine all her pain--physical and mental? But I guess she's a lesson or at least a chance to learn. I told my son, don't turn away baby, this is a chance to see what it means to go too far.

Jocelyne Wildenstein aka Cat Woman is just more proof that moderation is sexy.

10 reasons why moderation is sexy

I'm of the belief that there's only one way to live fully and that's by enjoying all the good (and only some of the bad) that life has to give.


My mantra of the last decade has definitely been, "Moderation is sexy," so here are my top 10 reasons why that remains true for me. It's also my hope that some excessive people that may stumble upon these, might find the inspiration to dial it down. It's been a bad few years for people who took it too far (Casey Johnson, Brittany Murphy, ODB, David Carradine, Kevin Aucoin, Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole and her son, DJ AM, Heath Ledger etc and personal acquaintances too). There's no need for that is all I'm saying when you explore or enjoy in moderation.




Here are 10 reasons why moderation is sexy:

1. It's always happy hour because you'll never be in AA.


2. You know what the joint is but you've never been (nor will you become) a resident.


3. HIV and STD are just more acronyms.


4. Hysterical laughter is not a symptom of anything but a case of the funnies.


5. Hysterical crying is reserved for meaningful and justified moments.


6. Your family's name will not become associated with "extortion plot" or "kidnapping" i.e., you have just enough money to live comfortably but not so much people want to do you harm.


7. You can actually break your body. Ouch!


8. Death does not become you.


9. Grand babies.


10. Life is like a fine wine, it really does get better with age.

Better add one more.

11. True love.

About true love, a lot of people think you have just one soul mate, while some think you can have many over the course of your life. I can't really say. I just know that I'm of the mindset that what I thought was "it", wasn't (Can I get a woot woot?) so that leaves me here: I've lived a while and still haven't found "it" but I do believe "it" is out there. I've also had some fun looking for "it" (wink). I've also had some *bs* for lack of a better term, but it's all fair, right? If I'd checked out too soon, I would not know that so I'd like to stick around and see what unfolds.

It might be a conscious choice after all; I live because I want to live. What if there's a psychic energy or a psychic determination that sustains us through good and bad times? I have the motivation...I found it through my child. The reveal there could be that motivation may be the key to our survival. It's a something or a someone --a passion that can't be contained-- that gives you an internal drive that the cosmos cannot or will not extinguish until you have fulfillment. I sometimes feel if I perish it would be because I gave up--because I said to the universe in some way, "Take me--enough," and then it would happen. I'm not certain of this at all, it's just a theory. But I do like the idea that it's a choice I could make, just like the choice I make to stay moderate...and be sexy.