When does the makeup come off?

I had a conversation with my guy the other day. I asked him if he minded me not wearing a lot of makeup. I used to never leave the house without layers of it on. Sometime in college I stopped wearing it either for 'making my life easier' or because I got lazy. My hair was always perfect and I kept hair spray in my purse. Now I use it maybe once a month if ever and as for makeup, maybe a little lipstick and mascara but that is it... He says he doesn't mind, but I wonder.

There's something about the freedom of 'wash n'go' that our society loves. We've learned to cut corners in order to economize out time. I wonder where all the time we saved actually went. I think its out there hiding with all the lost socks, lost keys, and lost minds.
 

Short Haired Old Women

I was sitting in a restaurant (yes I was alone) reading and eating from a buffet when a thought occurred to me. I've been growing out my hair again and I found it much more of a burden to primp and style than when I was young. So the natural train of thought moved too 'do others as they get older trim their hair to shorter lengths'? A brief survey of the room confirmed that there were no older ladies in the room with hair longer than the bottom of their ears.

I then scanned for younger women and sure enough, the younger the person, the longer the hair. Have I stumbled onto a psychological surety in our society? I wasn't sure so I started up a conversation with a woman who was sitting nearby. Her reasons were multiple but when boiled down really only meant it looked better and was easier to maintain.

Perhaps the hair thing is more about learning to be more efficient as we get older. I remember when I was young and worked for hours on my hair to get it to look 'just so'. Tons of hair spray and mousse, teasing and curling and posing to see which style had the best effect. Poofy was in...so was mohawks and bright colors like vibrant purple and shock blue. The 1980's weren't known for fantastic hairstyles, more for their ability to shock (grin). Not so much now. Even as I am growing it back, I fight the urge to cut it short again. I'm always pulling it out of the way into a pony tail or bun and I avoid the mousse and hair spray all together. I tease my boyfriend telling him it's for him so he can run his fingers through my hair (which I really like), but really its because I've gotten lazy about my hair.

I can't deny that I look younger and somewhat more attractive with longer hair. Why then do I fight it so much? I've come to the conclusion that my reasons for fighting it center around boredom. I've moved on to worrying and playing with other things and my hair just doesn't interest me like it once did, and this is good. Can you imagine a woman in her mid-forties in a bright shock blue mohawk... then again...

In The Good Ol' Summer Time

It's here again. That dreaded time of year. Adults work hard to rid themselves of a few extra pounds gained over the winter months, and children start daydreaming of school being out for the summer. I look despairingly at the spare pillow I have acquired over the winter months and I too promise to lose a few pounds before swimsuit season arrives.


Life seemed so much simpler when I was a child, water was fun and sunshine felt great. Now all I do is sit by the pool, and burn. Who messed up the childlike system for summer? I blame it all on the clothing industry. Shame on you for designing swimsuits that shrink in water! And what were you thinking with the thong bikini? I don't mean to sound old fashioned. But when did it become a necessity to show everything I have, outlined with dental floss? Let's face it, not everyone has the body of Christy Brinkly. I know I don't have any chance of ever fitting into a suit that reveals a midriff not unless Goodyear goes into designing.

Pardon my outrage at such atrocities, but where are the women with imperfect bodies who love water as much as I do? - Hiding in their backyards with a water hose, that's where. And just where do you think those men with jolly old Saint Nicholas style bellies are? - I'd really like to know, I can't find their hiding place anywhere, and I'm jealous.

Children really do get away with simple summer pleasures. No worries about flabby guts, or thunder thighs. They just laugh and play. Even early teenage years seem to be preoccupied with how they compare to their peers, but at least if they don't think well of themselves, they don't let it spoil their fun.

Perhaps the time has come to start a new trend. Throw out those thong bikini's and burn those designer nightmares, and come put on a T-shirt and shorts like me. We'll play the way we did when we were kids. Grab those inner tubes, bring out those flip flops and silly straw hats, and pack up the kids in the ol' mini van and head for the water. Get wet, and remember what it felt like to splash around like an idiot in the sunshine.