My Resolution: To Be Cool …
It’s 2012.
We aren’t children anymore.
We are turning another year older in 2012 (God make it stop… I’m kidding!).
Are we cool…?
Does it matter…?
What does it mean to be cool?…
My New Year’s resolution is to be cool. I’m not giving anything up in 2012.
I am being cool this year.
Easier said than done? Maybe not…
I read an article awhile back that discussed coolness. George Clooney was mentioned.
He definitely seems cool.
But why?
The sly grin… the clothes… the trappings of stardom?
I don’t think so.
George Clooney seems to be ‘cool’ because he’s comfortable. He’s comfortable with himself, he’s comfortable with his life. Yes, one could say, ‘How could George Clooney not be comfortable?’ But money and especially fame, do not make you cool. What is cool, then?
Going back to that article – it was interesting… and long. Out of that whole article, 5 sentences stood out to me as a mother.
“Coolness is relaxation.” That may seem hard at first. But being relaxed doesn’t mean you aren’t busy. Being relaxed is merely taking things in stride. And moms are the best at this.
“Coolness is courage.” Coolness is taking a deep breathe and your son’s hand on the first day of kindergarten and telling him how much fun he’s going to have. Coolness is smiling at everyone on your way out, even though you already miss him a little.
“Coolness is knowing what’s going on.” Or coolness is at least knowing how to change a diaper, get little people dressed and fed, while trying to figure out what is going on.
“Coolness acknowledges the limits of life while affirming that life is worth living.” No one can be a parent and not be reminded everyday that life is worth living. And no one can be a parent and not be reminded everyday, especially during flu season and potty training that there are limits to life.
“Coolness is the freedom to be yourself.” How cool is it that we are older now… There is no cookie cutter for the perfect mom (trust me, I’ve looked). We are tall and short and blond and brunette. We laugh and cry and sometimes hit our heads against the wall (when no one is looking).
Coolness isn’t clothes. It doesn’t matter how much a pair of jeans cost, they’re really just jeans. Coolness isn’t a purse or a particular diaper bag. Coolness is being a mom, and trying your best and being your best for your kids and yourself. Coolness is understanding that you aren’t perfect and your kids aren’t perfect… and when you’re tired at the end of the day and thinking, ‘What else do I have to do, what am I forgetting?’ you pick up your child and give them a hug.
That’s cool.
Moms are cool.
Period.
MY NEW BEAUTY SALON
I have a new beauty salon… I went to my husband’s barber shop to get my hair trimmed today.
Before you get worried and ponder my lucidity:
I’m growing out the layers in my hair.
I’m actually in a very good hair ‘place’ right now. I’ve finally realized that my hair IS pretty thick and it can look good all the same length. In Fact, I’ve realized the hard way, that
I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR LAYERS!!!
I don’t have time for the styling in the morning, the fuss throughout the day… I’m Done.
Why have layers in my hair like an updated ‘RACHEL’ haircut? Even if it is complementary for some face types, it’s completely retro at this point:
‘Friends’ went off the air years ago and I’m a mom… with a station wagon.
Besides, when my hair has been VERY LAYERED, by the end or middle of the day, it’s up in a clip- done…
So back to why I’m in a ‘Good Hair Place’ right now-
I can see the end is in sight; my layers are almost grown out and my hair is looking better
WHILE BEING EASIER to fix… I don’t even need to really fix it, I just comb it- done.
So, for a trim today, instead of going to my expensive hair salon and ‘hair guy’ who has been cutting my hair forever, I went to my Big Guy’s barber. I had planned to do this even before the Dow went down today, and I’d decided to do it on principle: It’s not that hard to trim hair- straight across the bottom- and snip off growing-out layers. It’s just not that hard. Yet, some ‘hair stylists’ do this and get paid more than the $18.00 I paid today. And I love my trim…
The price is good. But you know what’s a little better… HOW SMART I FEEL! I feel like I’ve outsmarted the system: that big, hair-styling, self-inflating, self-important, rotating-cog-wheel of hyper-consumer-falsely-inflated-capitalism.
I WON TODAY ladies and gentlemen!
This is empowering! AHHHHHHHHH!
Whew. It always comes back to hair, doesn’t it? or food… Stop. I’m getting away from my point:
I guess what the editors at VOGUE say is true,
‘There’s nothing like a good hair day.”
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I Was In The 2012 Show !
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