Today I feel like super woman. I made the decision last night that no matter what I was going to get up and put some effort into my appearance BEFORE I took my boys to school. This sounds so silly and easy, but I know there’s gotta be at least one stay at home mom out there that feels my struggle. Usually my mornings are so hectic that I am the last thing I even think to work on until after they have been dropped off and I have time to breathe.
So I made sure to prepare the house for the morning. There are times when I wake up I have to get right to the dishes or something so I can make breakfast and so on.. I didn’t want to have to do that because I knew it would consume all my time. So I stayed up until 11:30 pm to make sure I could get all of that done after the kids went to bed, and still fit in a shower. Now cleaning is not my strong suit.. I always tell my husband he would make a much better house wife because he is so organized and can clean so fast.. For me, I run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off trying to clean.
Gotta do the dishes; oh there is laundry to be folded; wait did I just hear the foo fighters are playing at the gorge on September 12th?! I better look up tickets.
And that my friends is actually what happened one day. I looked up the tickets and then realized I should be cleaning, and never bought the tickets. UGH. So you see how I really have to make a point and plan or else I get nothing done. I am completely different when it comes to my work. When I work, I’m working and I have a list of tasks and can get it done. Its all the house work that throws me off…
I got up, got my kids bathed and dressed, fed them, styled my hair and put on my makeup. I even put on some red lip stick. Random for a Monday morning, but I believe if you want to wear red lip stick the time of day shouldn’t determine that! We even left the house on time. I felt great. I stopped by Dutch Bros to get some coffee, I even had a card for a free one which is even better. And yes I am obsessed with coffee. The young man there took my order and then asked me if I was a student so he could give me the student discount. I laughed a little and said “Oh no, I’m not a student.. but thank you for saying that!”. He laughed and continue to ask about my day. As a wife and mother of 3 that usually rolls into the coffee stand tired, with bags under her eyes, hair up in a messy bun (not even a cute messy bun) and wearing yoga pants, this was a pleasant encounter.
What stood out about this to me was that when I do what is necessary to make sure I have time for ME, I not only feel better, but I know I look better. But its not from the makeup, its from something within me. Something that exudes confidence rather than tiredness. Something that says I do care about myself and I haven’t lost that. Now don’t get me wrong, there is nothing bad about yoga pants and a messy bun… but I feel sometimes we fall into whats comfortable and forget that there is more. I would much rather wear yoga pants than jeans any day, but I know that life shouldn’t always be about being comfortable.
I remember when I was younger watching my mother put on her makeup and how it would transform her. She used to not go anywhere without it. The transformation to me had nothing to do with how she looked because I thought she was beautiful no matter what. The transformation was in how much more confidence she had and how she was up for anything. I watched as she put makeup on less and less, and noticed that she also did less and less in her life. She became depressed for various reasons and putting on makeup became something that was mentally and physically too much work. It became something she did only if there was a special event. It became something she did for other people, rather than for herself. At this point putting on makeup didn’t really make her more confident or feel better about herself, it was something she felt made herself more presentable to others. It provided no confidence. This is a place I don’t want to see myself or others fall into. A place where self improvement becomes for others, rather than ourselves. That feeling that you get when putting on makeup or any other form of self improvement, should be a feeling of self love rather than trying to please others. When pleasing others with our appearance becomes our purpose, we will never feel fulfilled because there is no pleasing everyone.
So ladies, especially the stay at home moms, I challenge you. Make more time for yourself in the mornings. Start your day with a big dose of self love. Don’t like to wear makeup? That’s ok! There are many other ways that you can give yourself attention. There’s yoga, sit down with a cup of tea and read, take a hot bath, do anything that you feel enhances you as a person. Our self love shouldn’t be dependent on the sole purpose of pleasing others.
Of course this post needed some photos so I took some ridiculous cell phone selfies! LOL! Happy Monday everyone!
