 August 4, 2020 I made a deal with myself! I now do my hair and make-up at least twice a week! Why? Because it reminds me of who I am and who I want to be!!! It’s not just about the make-up. It’s that I look good and feel good! It gives me that spark of inner strength to do "all the things". It sets the tone to move forward and to live life as we know it, this new life I should say. It sets the tone to cope with this quarantine mode. It is our new normal, will it ever go back to how it was? I am not giving up on the version of me I have worked so hard to become, quarantine or not. I still have to look at myself, and I live with people who have to look at me every day. As this new normal sets in and my social life now consists of grocery store runs and Target outings, I want to be the best version of me still. I pass mirrors in my house multiple times a day and I see myself looking back. Some days I look older and more gray, some days I look well kept and happy! I do it for me and anyone that comes in contact with me as I run my local errands. Think about it. When you see someone who looks good on the outside, who looks like they have their $hit together, doesn’t it makes you feel good inside, like a message from the human race saying IT’S GOING TO BE OKAY, to see others who are trying for dear life to hang on through all this crazy-town life as we now know it. When someone else looks like they made an effort to look like a well functioning human being, we kind of mirror that feeling deep within ourselves too. This is why TV shows cast beautiful people, right? Most of us like looking at beauty, in all forms. It’s also a form of giving back in my mind. I want to look my best because I respect myself. I want to send a message to others that we are still standing and we are strong enough to get through this. Staying home does not have to mean giving up on ourselves. I am not letting this quarantine knock me down and you shouldn’t either. So put on that lipstick and strut your stuff (even if it means you have to go to Target).
If you don’t already do this sort of thing….now is the perfect time to transform and recreate some sort of routine. For me, I have an alarm set on weekdays to go to work. As grateful as I am to work from home, I still shower daily (or at least every other day) because it gives me some uummpfff. I aim for Mondays and Fridays to be my two days a week to take the time to do hair and makeup (and bling and fragrance), aka ME TIME. I then head down to my cozy basement office desk for work each morning. I am also reworking my eating habits, after letting them get out of control for the first few weeks of quarantine, are you with me? I don’t want to eat my feelings because I have too many these days. I re-started Pilates, still working on the routine part, and I am working hard to delegate a fair amount of house chores to the kids who are home all summer, available, bored, and totally capable. (My heart goes out to all who parent the little ones who still need a lot of hand-holding.) Hubby is now going back to work, outside the house, so it’s just me and the kids most weekdays. I am also encouraging the kids, at least my youngest, to establish their own schedules because they need that consistency, they need to know what is expected, and they need those boundaries. (And I need to work.) I would argue they need to navigate their coping skills and use that independence to find courage and even a creative outlet. (Remind me this is good material for a separate post!) In a way, through all this, it almost seems like I have a little more time on my hands since I’m not running around trying to keep up with the too many plans I made in a day when socializing and networking was life. I am ok with slowing it down and smelling the roses. Sometimes this means playing make-up and testing out new techniques, learning more about the skincare side of life, pampering myself with a mini spa treatment, all good medicine. Even better when my two girls are learning this with me. The make-up side of life, the bringing out the best features of me, is ten-fold. It gives me that sense that we still have so much to be grateful for when we take the time to live in the present and focus on the positive. The 20 minutes I sit in that make-up chair, I look up and see myself in the mirror, read my own handwritten note to myself that says “I love you”. And I remember why I got into this make-up thing at all. I do it so I can be the best version of me FOR MY FAMILY. You gotta put in (or on) the good stuff to give the good stuff out to those you love. Take care of your mind, body, and heart so you can share it and give those close to your heart that love they deserve. I promise it is going to come back to you beautifully. Are you ready to take on this challenge? Pick any two days a week and do something for you, it might be makeup, it might be working out, or learning something new. Put the time into you for you, and it will pour out and translate to love for all who surround you. It has to make sense to you to be effective. LOVE YOURSELF first and they will get the message, the authentic message that you are doing right for yourself so it ripples to those you love. It might just inspire the rest of us to see what worked for you!
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