At a certain point, somewhere between your first pair of reading glasses, your first adult hearing test and your third orthopedic pillow, you realize that you, not the house, are the renovation project now.

Forget the kitchen remodel. The real labor of love, dust and ongoing contractor drama is you.

Welcome to the personal restoration zone.

It all starts innocently enough. A spa oxygenated facial. A bit of Botox just to smooth that one angry line. A new serum that costs more than your first car.

You tell yourself that it is just maintenance like you are a 2006 Toyota Camry with good mileage and slightly creaky joints and then you glance in the mirror and realize that nature is not returning your calls.

So you graduate from DIY to outsourcing.

Dermatologists, med spas, cosmetic dentists. Soon you’re trading brunch reservations for appointments with someone named Dr. Diamond who freezes your forehead into a serene mask of eternal curiosity.

Then come the repairs you didn’t plan for. Knees that sound like bubble wrap, hips with the flexibility of peanut brittle, sleep apnea masks that look like you are preparing for space travel. You collect medical specialists like they are LaBuBu dolls.

You find yourself restoring your health with a team of professionals, including physical therapists, chiropractors, endocrinologists and that one heroic podiatrist who deserves a pair of Louboutins in your honor after custom making you divine orthotics.

Eventually, rejuvenation becomes less about improvement and more about functionality. You don’t want to look twenty. You just want to stand up without making a noise and walk without stumbling.,

There’s no final blueprint here. You tweak what you can. You surrender what you can’t. You embrace high-waisted pants and SPF 100 with the fervor of a true believer.

Your medicine cabinet becomes a museum of ambition with collagen powders, probiotics, retinol, anti-inflammatory teas and a tube of prescription ointment with instructions you need a microscope to read.

Rejuvenation isn’t about chasing perfection. It’s about honoring the story your body tells and giving it the upgrades it deserves. Even if the roof leaks sometimes. Even if the warranty expired on your left knee.

We renovate not to erase time, but to adapt to it with style. We restore to stay in the game, to feel a little more like ourselves, and, let’s be honest, to not groan every time we stand up.

In the end you are worth the scaffolding.

Self-renovation tip. Please make sure to compliment your contractor and your dermatologist. Only one holds a scalpel, but both hold your future.

I have held out for a long time, but I am beginning to think that perhaps it is better to look good than feel good.

On second thought, I want both! 😎