From Firsts to Lasts

I feel like one's autumn years are characterized by the point in your life when you stop noticing the 'firsts' in your life, and instead start noticing the 'lasts'. One goes from "this is the first time I drank an alcoholic beverage" to "this is the last time I get so drunk at the office party that I puke on the VP," and stuff like that.

Recently I had a 'last' come to me rather unexpectedly early. You see, when most people bust out a brand new disposable razor they expect it to last about a week, if the marketing on this box is anything to go by.

And they are, in this bulk format, inexpensive enough that you could easily go through one a week without compromising your household budget.

I, on the other hand, use them until they wear out. For me, this takes about a year, and they usually fail when some of the plastic around the blades starts cracking and falling apart rather than the blades themselves getting dull.

So I'm now the proud owner of a roughly 52-year supply of disposable razors.

I suppose when I hit the ripe old age of 94 I might have to reconsider my definition of "lifetime supply", but maybe when my supply starts dwindling I'll just see if I can squeeze a year and a half out of each razor.