It’s funny how, as I have grown older, my skin has literally gotten thinner, but metaphorically it has become thicker.

Are you following me?

As I have continued to age, my skin has developed wrinkles, and I am even noticing a bit of sagging going on. When I asked my dermatologist if there was any way to stop this horrific manifestation, she went on to explain that unless I can produce more collagen, the answer is no. Great. Just one more lovely detail to chock up to becoming a senior citizen. And just so you know, I’m also having a hard time owning up to that.

But as for the latter, aging does have a perk or two — one of which, as I mentioned, is the ability to not let every little negative comment — dare I say — get under your skin.

Folks’ comments and critiques somehow just don’t have the same kind of power they did when I was younger.

Now I am not saying I never get my feelings hurt or that I don’t take things personally anymore. I do. It’s just that with age, there comes a bit of wisdom. Yep, that’s right. You can get smarter when you get older. Maybe not with computers and such, but living life longer has allowed me to see things less naively than I did when I was younger.

Take for instance when classmates called me “brace girl” because not only did I have braces on my teeth, I also had to wear a Milwaukee brace due to my scoliosis. Or when I was a young woman and was cleaning up from an Antique Club meeting and accidentally broke one of the hostesses’ pieces of crystal and she belittled me in front of the other members. I was literally mortified and went home and cried.

Girl — let me just say, at this stage of the ballgame, it would take more than a critical comment to send me into tears.

Tears are reserved for the really big hurts in life and breaking a glass ain’t one of them.

I say all this because this week I was talking with a friend of mine and she was sharing with me how someone had insinuated to her child that she had a weight problem. Of course she doesn’t. Children can get a little thick before they go through puberty, only to shoot up and become thin as a rail.

But unfortunately, when we are children, no matter how we may turn out, that early criticism seems to never let go. Those words just seem to bury themselves deep into our skin and it can take a lot of work emotionally to wash them off.

No doubt I have screwed up and said something that was hurtful to a young person. And the thought of doing such damage is painful. But after listening to my friend, I hope that I can remember that, while those young folks have plenty of collagen going on on the outside, inside they are as fragile as the thin skin hanging on my arms.

Terri Cowart Frazier writes features for The Vicksburg Post. She can be reached at terri.frazier@vicksburgpost.com.