One of my mom friends won't leave her house without lipstick on, even if all she is doing is hauling two snotty kids to the pediatrician.
Another gets up at 5AM so she can take a shower and shave her legs before taking her four kids to school and dentist appointments and playdates.
I myself refuse, no matter how late it is or how awful I feel, to go to the store in my pajamas.
Now, if you're a regular reader, you know how critical I am of a society that equates self worth with outer beauty. I refuse to watch women lower themselves to compete for the affection of an aging rocker on VH1, and I won't read certain magazines that are all about being thin and wearing the right clothes. I hate makeover shows that imply that new hair and 400 dollar boots will solve all your problems, or reality shows that paint single women as lonely, sad, incomplete souls. I would much rather my daughter idolize Nancy Pelosi, although I don't agree with her politics, than certain crotch-flashing, car-crashing, booze-soaked celebrities.
But...a little vanity can be a good thing, and here's why.
Sometimes looking nice can be just the boost you need.
In the past two weeks, my cat got sick and when he wasn't trying to die, he was throwing up on my carpet and having bloody diarrhea out the other end.
Then my baby caught a virus that gave her a 103.6 fever and constant, rank, watery diarrhea. Her fever broke after twenty-four hours, but here we are, over a week later, and the diaper issues are still not sorted out. Just as she was getting better, my three-year-old got sick. My husband conveniently left town for a business trip, leaving me at home with two poopy kids and a pukey cat.
My son was potty trained, but now he's back in diapers. His fever also lasted 24 hours, and that day was actually the easiest day, because he slept all day. Then the whining started, he refused to eat anything other than Cheerios, and his rear end turned bright red.
I don't even want to try and calculate how many pounds of stinky, funky diapers I've put in the trash. It's too gross to contemplate.
Oh, and the cat started puking again.
On top of all that, after two pregnancies and fifteen years of working with animals, my nose is super sensitive. I can smell parvovirus down the hallway and trash cans that need to be emptied through closed doors. All this constant cleaning up of poop and puke has offended my discriminating nose. I'm a bit of a clean freak too, and the idea of infectious germs residing in my house has sent me into a Lysol soaked tizzy.
I've cleaned up enough diarrhea to last me a lifetime.
Both kids are feeling better and the cat is doing okay, so today I am having a vain day.
I don't have any plans in particular. I'll probably go for a run later, and I have some housework to do. I'll cook dinner and after the kids go to bed, I might pay bills or clip coupons or just veg on the couch.
But darn it, I'm going to look good while I do it! Not that the kids care. Or the cat. Or the mailman, who chances are will be the only other adult I'll see today until my husband comes home. I'm doing it for me, to remind myself that there's a person inside me who doesn't exist just to wipe noses and disinfect doorknobs and enforce naptime and cuddle feverish children.
Today, I am wearing my best pair of jeans (the ones that make my rear end look really good), and a silk-blend top I don't wear often because it requires special care. I have on my most favorite high-heeled sandals and I painted my toenails. I put on jewelry besides my usual watch and wedding band. I put on full makeup and used hot rollers on my hair.
Looking good won't solve any of my problems and the kids won't suddenly recover just because I put on nicer clothes. But it does give me a little bit of a boost to know that I look nice, and that no matter what else is going on, what crisis just around the corner, at least I have sexy shoes and good hair. It's a pleasure to do something just for myself, because I feel like it and because I can.
Because underneath the Mom Parts of all of us, there's still a Woman dying to get out, and it's okay to be vain once in awhile.
Another gets up at 5AM so she can take a shower and shave her legs before taking her four kids to school and dentist appointments and playdates.
I myself refuse, no matter how late it is or how awful I feel, to go to the store in my pajamas.
Now, if you're a regular reader, you know how critical I am of a society that equates self worth with outer beauty. I refuse to watch women lower themselves to compete for the affection of an aging rocker on VH1, and I won't read certain magazines that are all about being thin and wearing the right clothes. I hate makeover shows that imply that new hair and 400 dollar boots will solve all your problems, or reality shows that paint single women as lonely, sad, incomplete souls. I would much rather my daughter idolize Nancy Pelosi, although I don't agree with her politics, than certain crotch-flashing, car-crashing, booze-soaked celebrities.
But...a little vanity can be a good thing, and here's why.
Sometimes looking nice can be just the boost you need.
In the past two weeks, my cat got sick and when he wasn't trying to die, he was throwing up on my carpet and having bloody diarrhea out the other end.
Then my baby caught a virus that gave her a 103.6 fever and constant, rank, watery diarrhea. Her fever broke after twenty-four hours, but here we are, over a week later, and the diaper issues are still not sorted out. Just as she was getting better, my three-year-old got sick. My husband conveniently left town for a business trip, leaving me at home with two poopy kids and a pukey cat.
My son was potty trained, but now he's back in diapers. His fever also lasted 24 hours, and that day was actually the easiest day, because he slept all day. Then the whining started, he refused to eat anything other than Cheerios, and his rear end turned bright red.
I don't even want to try and calculate how many pounds of stinky, funky diapers I've put in the trash. It's too gross to contemplate.
Oh, and the cat started puking again.
On top of all that, after two pregnancies and fifteen years of working with animals, my nose is super sensitive. I can smell parvovirus down the hallway and trash cans that need to be emptied through closed doors. All this constant cleaning up of poop and puke has offended my discriminating nose. I'm a bit of a clean freak too, and the idea of infectious germs residing in my house has sent me into a Lysol soaked tizzy.
I've cleaned up enough diarrhea to last me a lifetime.
Both kids are feeling better and the cat is doing okay, so today I am having a vain day.
I don't have any plans in particular. I'll probably go for a run later, and I have some housework to do. I'll cook dinner and after the kids go to bed, I might pay bills or clip coupons or just veg on the couch.
But darn it, I'm going to look good while I do it! Not that the kids care. Or the cat. Or the mailman, who chances are will be the only other adult I'll see today until my husband comes home. I'm doing it for me, to remind myself that there's a person inside me who doesn't exist just to wipe noses and disinfect doorknobs and enforce naptime and cuddle feverish children.
Today, I am wearing my best pair of jeans (the ones that make my rear end look really good), and a silk-blend top I don't wear often because it requires special care. I have on my most favorite high-heeled sandals and I painted my toenails. I put on jewelry besides my usual watch and wedding band. I put on full makeup and used hot rollers on my hair.
Looking good won't solve any of my problems and the kids won't suddenly recover just because I put on nicer clothes. But it does give me a little bit of a boost to know that I look nice, and that no matter what else is going on, what crisis just around the corner, at least I have sexy shoes and good hair. It's a pleasure to do something just for myself, because I feel like it and because I can.
Because underneath the Mom Parts of all of us, there's still a Woman dying to get out, and it's okay to be vain once in awhile.
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2 comments:
RIGHT ON!
I hear ya! Deion Sanders said (of his crazy attire) "If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good. So I look good". Mr. Vanity himself speaking but I think it's pretty true. If you feel good on the inside, things are a lot better. So who cares if that means spending some extra time on yourself every once in a while- you're worth it! :)
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