Reflections on entering my 30s...

Okay, so I have awhile longer before I actually turn thirty. Less than a year but more than a few months. For some reason today I just realized how old I am. The last few weeks a culmination of things have led up to this feeling. Part of it has to do with having a daughter. "My daughter", it still sounds weird to me to say that. Having a child completely changes your outlook on everything. It changes who you are-there is no doubt about it. Your priorities are turned upside down in a matter of days. Ask any stay-at-home mom and she will tell you that a whole day can pass by and she will not have looked in the mirror even once. This can result in some pretty interesting situations. Leaving the house with food in your hair, or spit up on your pants, not realizing you have spent an entire day with poo on the front of your white t-shirt.

In one of my passings of a reflective surface the other day I noticed what looked like a shadow underneath my nose, just above my lip. Strange, I thought. must be some food or make-up from our date night three weeks ago. I'll rub that off later. And then I was actually spending some rare time putting make-up on to go out to dinner with some girlfriends when I noticed it again. Seriously?!? No way, I can not have a mustache!? really, God? I'm going to be 30 not 60! First, I call my friend Kristin. The conversation goes something like this. Me, "So, have you noticed anything strange on my face lately?" Kristin, "ummm what?" Me, "Have you noticed that I have a mustache??" Kristin, "seriously? no I don't think so. But everyone waxes their upper lip. you should do it too." hmmmm... Then, I make the most henious mistake ever. I ask my husband if he sees my mustache. DON'T DO THIS. take my advice on this. NEVER ask your husband about facial hair or to tell you a detailed description of what it looked like while you gave birth. You don't want the real answer to either of those questions. Anyway, I already knew the answer and knew I needed to do something about it and fast.

So I got a haircut. That's right, a haircut. I brought 3 different pictures to my stylist of Katie Holmes. Katie, with her cropped layered glossy hair, walking through LA in over sized sunglasses and trench coat with Suri on her hip. She looks so chic being a mom...she's 30 something right?? Well, the hairstyle doesn't really look the same when you wear running shorts with old college t-shirts and no make-up every day. I ended up looking more like Kate than Katie. Kate from Jon and Kate plus 8...with a mustache. And then to top off my week I showed up to church wearing the exact same dress as my mother-in-law. Yes, Margaret, Grandma and mommy shop at the same stores. It really isn't as bad as it sounds. My mother-in-law happens to be very hip and stylish. But this just solidified the fact that I am older; my priorities have changed as have my hair growth patterns.

The up side to all of this is that becoming a mom (for the non-celebrity set) makes vanity go out the window. It is really freeing actually. At first you are just too damn tired to care what you look like and then eventually you really don't care. As my friend Brooke put it, "There is so much I would rather do during nap time than shower!" And that's the truth.