Today I wore lipstick

I am not a girly-girly. I am not high maintenance--far from it. But I'm not boyish either. I do like to get dressed up from time-to-time. But I absolutely cannot stand to put on makeup. I hate it! (Ok, maybe hate is too strong a word...I intensely dislike it.)

Which is another reason I like being a teacher. Time off means I don't have to wear makeup. Except on days like today when I attended a Successful Schools Symposium. Then I wear makeup because I know I look better. How do I know? Case in point:

Back in 1991, before my brother got married, his fiance and her family came over for supper. Well, I didn't see any reason to look good for them. So, I didn't put on any makeup. During supper, my sisters and I decided after the kitchen was cleaned up, we'd go out. But first, I had to make myself more presentable. Who knew, I could have met Mr. Right that night. (I didn't.) The in-laws-to-be were still there when I walked into the kitchen, ready for a night on the town. Yes, I had put on makeup. My sister-in-law's sister said, "Wow, what a difference!"

Another case in point: During high school, I only put on makeup when I had my picture made or during band performances (I was drum major). When I had my senior picture taken, one of my classmates kept repeating, "You look really pretty." (You mean I wasn't before?)

I have been blessed with a good complexion. I only use foundation powder, mascara (I was not blessed with long, thick eyelashes), blush and lipstick. It doesn't take 2 minutes to put the junk on my face. Yet I still dislike putting it on. My husband doesn't seem to care. My boys don't seem to care. So why should I? I almost panicked when I got to work a few weeks ago and realized I had not put my makeup on. High school kids can be mean, you know. I went to a co-worker and asked if she saw anything wrong with my face. Other than one eye looking a little redder than the other, no. Good...maybe the students won't notice. And no, no one said anything about it. (Maybe that just means I'm not paid attention to...oh wait...I'm not paid attention to! So I had nothing to worry about!)

But today, because I was going to be meeting strangers, I had to put my best foot -- I mean face -- forward. So I put on my makeup including my lipstick and left my mark wherever I drank.