A while ago, I posted a question on my FaceBook, asking my friends what they would like to read a blog entry about. There were a lot of good answers, but I particularly fancied the question; What are some things about being a Mummy that you wished you'd have known sooner....
I could make this a very long list. I could fill it with simple things that every new parent (particularly Mum's) discover, or things even more basic, that I probably could have figured out if I'd have given them any thought at all. But this piece is about more than just the never ending laundry and dishes, the mass amounts of puke and poop, the discovery that toddlers really are some kind of Holmes/Houdini hybrid (able to locate anything, and escape from anywhere), and it's even about more than the discovery that you can equally feel both heart-may-explode-in-love, and hair-tearing-out-whilst-you-threaten-to-sell-them-on-the-Black-Market-furious, when dealing with your little treasure.
Here is just one of these 'things', from a list that will continue in other entries, about one thing nobody warned me about.
Standard of Beauty
Before I became a Mother, I took a great deal of pride in how I looked.
I would never leave the house without a full face of makeup, I would always wear heels no matter where I was going (even grocery shopping required at least a small heel), and I constantly put thought into how to dress 'hot' for the opposite sex.
My, my, my. How things have changed.
When I was at home with my newborn daughter and one year old son, I would feel accomplished if I managed to shower that day. If I was seen wearing something that wasn't covered in baby vomit, then I felt I'd done something incredible. And if I managed to wash my hair, or wear a bra - good God! - I was having a superwoman-style day! Although at this time, I was also deeply in the grasp of Post Natal Depression, so perhaps it's not the fairest judgement.
So lets look at a far more current version of myself...
I honestly consider it a massive win if Luke gets home and I have; smooth legs, lip gloss, a spray of perfume, and am wearing clean clothes.
Seriously. If I have managed that whilst also managing to keep the kids happy and fed all day - then I feel like a Goddess.
Even now with my bed-ridden self, I consider it a great accomplishment when Luke gets into bed to cuddle me, and comments on how nice my hair smells :)
That's basically it - don't be a smelly Yettie. Beauty regime over.
Unless it's an occasion of course, (where I do the full works of tight dress, stiletto heels, hair extensions, dark eyes and red lips) but short of that, nobody told me how very different my standard of beauty would be once I had children. It's no longer a win if I've spent 3 hours getting ready for a night out, it's a win if I have the kids fed, bathed, and in bed, and have managed to squeeze in a shower before my Man gets home.
Lingerie, porn star hair and makeup, $200 stripper heels and long fake nails are not longer my idea of what it means to be sexy in the boudoir.
Smooth legs, clean clothes that aren't pyjamas, freshly washed hair, and a smile, are now all it takes for me to feel like I've accomplished some high standard of beauty.
It may not sound glamorous (probably because its not), but there are so many other rewarding things for me to put my time into, and dressing like a baby hooker is no longer one of them....Unless it's a costume party...You can always dress shamelessly like a whore at costume parties :P
No comments:
Post a Comment