A Wise Woman Told Me

The other day, Emma asked me why I put on make-up.  I was taken back to a conversation I had with my mother as a young teenager.  I asked her a similar question.  I wanted to know why she would go to all the trouble of fixing her hair and make-up when she knew she wouldn't even be leaving the house that day.  Her answer has stuck with me all these years.  She said that in part, she did it for when my dad comes home, but more importantly she did it for herself.  She told me that she always felt more ready to tackle her day, and therefore accomplished more.  She also felt more confident and better about herself.
I have found this to be true for me too.  If I hang out in my pajamas all day I accomplish very little.  Now don't get me wrong, this in no way means that I am bright and shiny by 7 am.  Today for example, I threw on some clothes and a hat over my "Pippi braids" as Paul calls them so I could drive carpool and then come home to till the garden and shovel MORE dirt.  Then later I will be digging up raspberries to transplant for my huge raspberry patch that I have been dreaming of for years.  But, at some point today, I will shower and do my hair (if only a pony tail), and put on some make-up because it makes me feel better!  Some days it is 5pm before I get to this point but I still do it because getting there eventually is better than not getting there at all!
I am not a spa day kind of girl.  I've never had a pedicure or manicure, unless you count that one fake nail I got to match the others when my nail broke 3 days before my wedding.  I buy my make-up at Target or the grocery store,wherever I happen to be when I remember.  I get my hair cut, etc once every 4 or 5 months.  You get the idea.  However, I hope to never stop making myself feel ready to tackle my world!  Besides, it gives Paul an unspoken message about the kind of day I've had.  If he comes home to a make-upless face, he knows he better be on his game because it's been one of those days. :)