BoomerGirl Diary

My husband blew in from a windy round of golf looking ruddy cheeked as Santa.

"Would you have any moisturizer?" he asked. Does Poland Springs have water? It was only a matter of which to chose.

I quickly produced one from Kiehl's and mentioned that they, among many other cosmetic companies are now producing skin care lines especially for men. Always at the ready for any excuse to go cosmetic shopping, I offered to pick him up some. At this point he was busy cruising the TV channels and just nodded.

A few weeks later I left a tube of Kiehl's Facial Fuel Moisturizer on the bathroom counter and because I couldn't resist and secretly thought he would use it, a tube of Eye Alert also from their men's collection. He thanked me and then in a gruff voice asked, "What's this eye stuff?"I assured him it was good and would help with puffiness and undereye circles.

Maybe it was my imagination but he appeared a bit taken back. I heard no more about these additions to his grooming routine until a couple of months later when he asked for replacements.

Can a man on the far side of 60 be labeled a metrosexual? My 6-year-old granddaughter who has never heard that word describes her grandfather as a neat and tidy man. When asked what that meant, she said, "You know, he wears shirts with collars in all really pretty colors,his hair is never messy and he always smells good."

She's right. Her grandfather is always well groomed but it's more than that. You'll never catch him in shorts and a T-shirt unless he's gardening and he doesn't own a pair of jeans. His closet is more full and colorful than mine, and he spends considerable time picking out the perfect tie or after shave lotion. His shoes are always polished and you'll never see him in need of a shave.

Yes, grooming and clothing are definite priorities but he does have his lim

its. While some men his age may resort to dying their hair or may dye or wax their chest hair in lieu of decorating it with gold chains, such sleaze is not for him. He's comfortably settled for a full head of white hair and his only jewelry is a vintage Rolex and his wedding ring. Still I do envision a future when his collection of skin care products may rival mine, and why not?

Definitions of metrosexual abound on the Web and I've been browsing them to see if my husband qualifies. Most say the word refers to a young straight urban man who is concerned about his appearance, enjoys the art of decorating, and sophisticated living.

OK, so he's not young, but I've yet been left to decorate any living space on my own without significant input and a lot of arguing from him. And although I may carry on about them initially, his choices in general, are successful. He knows his way around the kitchen too and has a full repertoire of dishes that he enjoys making. My favorite definition of a metrosexual says that this person also makes great cocktails. No doubt about that. My husband has a stellar reputation as a maker of the perfect martini and his daughters would testify that he also whips up a powerful cosmo.

So call him neat and tidy or metrosexual. Either way I'm glad he's mine and I'll drink to that.