My New Year’s resolution this year was not about giving up anything.  I always like to DO something as a resolution (giving things up also tends to involve a lot of will power).

So I decided January 1st that I would bury my sweat suits and dress a little nicer.  And this turned out to be pretty darn easy because my sweat suits were my uniform: the gray one with a long sleeve t-shirt, the green one with a long sleeve t-shirt; you get the picture.

Since the first of the year I’ve been wearing khakis or jeans or a couple other pairs of nicer pants and you guessed it- long sleeve t-shirts.  I’ve been feeling a lot more pulled together-

gee, go figure.

Then, I was talking to a friend of mine about make-up (the kind of friend who always looks like she just ‘threw something on’ from her fabulous wardrobe and is perfectly put together).

She joked that I had never seen her without make-up.

“Sure I have, you’re not wearing any now.”

“Yes, I am.”

Hmmm.  I started thinking.  Maybe I should start wearing a little powder or something.  Maybe I could start off just trying to put on some make-up a few times a week…

So I did.

This doesn’t seem at first like it’s life-changing, but it is… just a little bit.

I always make sure my son looks nice and put together, and now I’m spending a few more minutes in the morning so I do too.

I was at the grocery store with jeans on, a relatively nice long sleeve shirt tucked in and make-up on.  My hair was even down, not up in a clip.

All of a sudden I get that feeling that I’m being stared at and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up just a little.  I look up from the Havarti I’m studying, to see the young woman behind the bakery counter staring at me.  She’s staring at me intently… with squinted eyes.

I didn’t think much about it… maybe she needs glasses, thinks I’m someone else, etc.

Awhile later I had made my way over to the cereal aisle when I see the young woman from the bakery counter walking toward me with a smile on her face and she says, I kid you not,

“You look COMPLETELY different!”

The ‘completely’ really got me…  Completely?

“You’re wearing make-up…”

“You look so pretty!”

Wow.  That’s so nice… 
Then my mind goes into overdrive… Do I really look that different with make-up on?

That’s still nice… 
wait- how BAD was I looking without make-up?

How sweet of her… 
wow, I must have been looking like the Hunchback of Notre Dame every time I’ve come into this grocery store.

Still, what a nice compliment… 
I’ve been coming to this same store for 5 years, has everyone thought FOR 5 YEARS- ‘that woman should wear a little make-up’?

Wow.

A second later, I started grinning as I walked down that cereal aisle.  There was a compliment in there somewhere.

Beauty is only skin-deep, but looking better can help you feel a little better too.

And my New Year’s resolution is validated!

* I actually wrote this a while back for DC Metro Moms…  I wear a little make up EVERY Day now…