There are warnings that parents spout that are not true or hardly meant.  They are said because you are wanting some activity, behaviour, noise, or many other things relating to your child to stop.  One of those classic parental warnings is ‘someday your face will freeze like that’.  In the moment, when told to your child, that statement is completely inaccurate.  The child’s face will not freeze into a permanent rigor of eye-lids flipped, or stretched nostrils, mouth, cheeks, and ears brought about by insertion of digits and pulling.  The warning is cast because who really wants to look at anyone with their eye lids flipped or their tongue up their nose.  Now that I am firmly established in my middle years I have been contemplating the truth behind ‘someday your face will freeze like that’.  Whatever expression is your go to expression becomes etched into your skin.  Smiles, scowls, moues of disapproval, grim judgemental frowns if made often enough become the topography our faces.  Even without the feeling associated with the expression your face just assumes the mien.  I favour the ‘do not approach me’ scowl, it has served me well for many years.  I am beginning to fear it is beginning to slip.  I am not sure whether it is because my kids make me laugh so frequently that the scowl has lost its edge, or if it is hard to take a scowl seriously when the person scowling is wearing an abominable snowman hat with horns.