One thing my mom was {and is} fabulous at when I was growing up was getting ready for the day. Every.single.day. Seriously. She never just wore her pajamas all day because she didn't want to get ready. I've only seen her without makeup a handful of times. She always showered, did her hair & makeup, and got dressed. Even when she may have been feeling a little self conscious about herself or wanted to lose 5 pounds, or just didn't want to get ready because she'd be staying home all day, she ALWAYS got ready and looked more than presentable. And, because of that, all the guys in my high school thought my mom was "super hot." She still is. Super hot, I mean. Also because of that, she could always feel confident about leaving the house or running errands with little notice without feeling worried that she hadn't gotten ready for the day.
Anyway, I'm sure about the time I hit 16-the age where I should have cared more than ever before about my appearance for all intensive purposes-she probably realized that I wasn't really following in her footsteps. I frequently wore my hair in a {very un-becoming} messy bun, wore pajamas & flip flops all day, and went to school without makeup. Getting ready to me equaled getting "fixed up" and that was kind of a special occasion kind of thing. I'm sure she felt as if she'd failed me. Maybe I thought that since the guys all thought I was nice & my mom was hot, it just wasn't a necessary thing for me to worry about & more than anything I just didn't care. I was pretty comfortable with who I was as a person, but also very self conscious deep inside about my body, so why draw attention to it? The years went on and especially going to college and meeting Zac afterward encouraged me to take a little better care with getting ready each day. However, there are still days when I just don't feel like getting totally fixed up &/or I don't have time till the boys are down for naps, Zac gets home, or after I exercise... Dr. Laura encouraged against this as well because our husbands deserve to come home to a nice & presentable wife. I totally agree and always feel so bad for Zac if I'm looking at all frumpy when he comes home. Thankfully he loves me regardless but of course he appreciates it & I feel better about myself when I'm ready.
Today everything she taught me came screaming in my ears & I wished I had listened.
It was a normal day. I had gotten up after a night of little sleep, still wearing the clothes I'd worn all day yesterday. Got the boys fed & cleaned up, did some laundry, got Zac off to work, paid bills, worked on the books, and grabbed a bite to eat myself. Realized a few bills needed to be postmarked today and I was missing a couple ingredients for the dinner I'm taking to a neighbor tonight so I thought I'd just run them to town. Also realized that I looked like someone who doesn't own a shower, but I thought, "I'll just run in real quick & won't see anyone I know..."
As a quick sidenote, let me illustrate what I looked like in detail for you so you can fully understand the picture:
-Ugly messy bun with ugly headband {seriously, it had jewels on it}
-Not an ounce of makeup {and a broken out chin to top it off!}
-Oversized long-sleeved black Cricket t-shirt {free advertising, right!}
-Maternity jeans
-Brown flip flops {chipped pink toenails}
-Hadn't even brushed my teeth for the day
So I run to town and into the post office. A quick & painless drop off. Next stop: M&W. The town grocery store. It was after the major lunch rush, so there was hardly anyone inside. Phew. As I'm picking out some pasta, I look over and see a nice looking guy walking in. I glance down and then back up again quickly realizing it is a guy I'd been friends with in high school. Haven't seen the guy in ten years and although I've lost a significant amount of weight since the last time he saw me, I looked significantly grosser! Logically, I knew he would be friendly and it'd be great to catch up with him, but I was totally mortified at the thought of him seeing me looking so...unpresentable. I'd had a small crush on him in like 8th grade and even though his opinion means little to nothing to me now, there is some part of me that wants those who knew me as the Karli in high school to see me now and think, "Dang! After high school Karli is hot!" He looked great-of course-like he'd had nothing better to do in the past ten years than lift weights & lay in a tanning bed, and I decided hiding & avoidance were my best options. I got my groceries successfully and thought he and his girlfriend/wife? & daughter were gone. I was checking out and trying to hurry when they showed up in line a few people behind me. Talk about humiliating. I totally just kept my eyes forward and toward the door and hurried to my car. I'm sure they both recognized me & wondered why I was being so weird, but I was so embarrassed. I got in my car and called Amber & laughed with her. If there is any reason to make sure I look my best for my reunion next summer, it's days like today! And, Amber said, "That's why we need to be more like your mom!" I totally knew what she meant & can understand more than ever why Mom was trying to teach me a valuable lesson. From now on I'm going to put a little more effort into getting ready before leaving my house...Just in case!
And a PS side note: after taking this picture I felt really awful that Zac has to put up with me like this sometimes. He is always such a hottie, so I better try a little harder!
14 comments:
Karli Jo Peterson Jo (cleaver, but it just doesn't sound the same) for reals! You crack me up. It is called life and it just really really happens somedays. Everyone in high school who knew you, knew the real you and loved you. Good news is you are still the same you and we love that! My point is... go moms for accomplishing all that they do in a day. Fixed up or not you are the Voman (as my mom and I say)! The only thing I feel bad is that I wasn't their with my sweats on with you hehe!
haha I am the same way....always nasty....Jaeger doesn't care and it's not all the work and I don't feel like I've "wasted" my cute outfits and makeup that day because no one sees me.
I love the story and it encouraged me to be better too.
hahaha Karli I love you and that story made me laugh. The summer after I came home from college I went to the store with my Mom looking just how you described and I saw an ex-boyfriend there! Oh man! Why does that always happen? I quickly escaped before he saw me! Lets all make a pledge to do better! :0)
I loved this post. Because when mom was in Utah last week, she saw how i get ready every day here. Oh wait, I don't. And she commented on how I should.. and I want to.. I just hate getting ready, it is not fun! And I think that picture of you is cute. So there (: love and miss you!
-taylor
ps. that head band.. is mine. from limited too. hahaha. and at least your eyebrows are nicely waxed (:
I love this post. I absolutely love your Mom and totally want to be like her, so I guess I am going to have to start by getting ready every morning. I can do this. We can all do this, right? I'll let you know how it goes in the morning. :) By the way, I always run into someone in M&W when I look like crap. It never fails.
Karli, that first paragraph was my mom too! ALWAYS got ready, EVERY DAY. Even on a Saturday (she always worked full time, so that was the only day she could get away with skipping it), after all the chores were done, sometimes not until the afternoon, she still showered, did her hair, and "put on her face", as she would say. Me, if it's not done by 1:00, it's not getting done. The day is half way over, so getting all done up seems like a waste. Anyway, I totally hear ya on this one. I cut my hair off short when both my babies were born so that I'd be forced to fix it and look cute. No ponytails for me! I wanna be a hot mamma too! Well, we know how that goes. It still only gets fixed every couple to three days. So thanks for this post. You are hilarious, but so right. It is hard sometimes to give up an hour or more of what little free time we have to spend it in the bathroom, but we sure feel better after we do! Thanks for reminding me not to stop being so complacent!! :-)
This has happened to me too! My mom has always been the same way. There are days where I just don't care either. Now that I am teaching though, I have to make a concious effort to be put together because my students and their parents may see me. Love you!
That cracked me up! I loved it. I too often have had the same experiences. I just feel the days I do get ready I see nobody. They days I'm gross I choose to do errands?? I guess I need to be more like your mama. Why is she so perfect?
You are so cute Karli! I love the picture of you. Okay, so this is me everyday and I just try to ignore what I look like even when I have errands, but you made me think, why am I doing that? What am I hiding behind? You always make me think and want to be better. THANK YOU! Your mom is adorable by the way, and so are you!
P.S. you got me curious on who you saw from High school???
Good thing you are a natural beauty and can get away with a messy bun head, sans-makeup day:) silly girl!
I do this every day. ... lol Poor Jeff, but I guess there is a part of me that is more impressed with a man that can look past appearance. But on the other hand I need to be Jeff's "girlfriend" not just his wife. I loved your post,thanks for sharing!
LOL! Karli you crack me up! Seriously though - that picture didn't even look close to being bad! It's funny cause I was just thinking about you and Amber the other day and how laid back you are and not worried about being dressed up all the time. I was telling OCD self to be more like that and not HAVE to be up and dressed and "perfect" all the time. Hahaha....I only wish I could look the way you do with no make up on. You are one of the cutest girls I know! Love ya
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!! You make me laugh...because that is SOOOO meeee!!! If I'm at home-sweats/yoga pants/pj's it is for me!! Even if I am showered & "ready", if I am just staying home---back in the pj's!! I at least change into jeans & a sweatchirt when I pick up my kids!! (Most moms come get their kids with greasy hair and wrinkled pj's @ 3pm---I tell myself at least I'm not that bad!!) :) The errands I have run last minute feeling gross--it's karma, I swear, you always see someone you know!!! I, as a stay at home mom, have tried to gleen from your moms example too--I'm more middle of the road!! I think as the generations go on, we get more relaxed...Gma Mac NEVER let us see her sans makeup!! EVER!!! My mom, pretty much the same way-she never layed around on a Sat. in pj's, it actually always annoyed me that she had to be ready by 8am!!! Now I wish I could be more that way!! You're loved all the same...I guess we can only try harder huh?!?! You're awesome--thanks for the laugh!
Post a Comment