Wednesday, November 23, 2016

To Be Slightly, Wrinkled, Tousled, and HUMAN




I don’t know what it is about Texas. Maybe it’s the warmer weather, or maybe it has nothing to do with Texas at all. Maybe it’s me. I’m maturing.  But I feel more and more comfortable to let others see me “not at my best.”

I’ve gone to the hospital in the middle of the night with the neighbor. No makeup. Messy hair. Tshirt and sport shorts. It was gloriously not attractive.

I go out more often with straight hair. And I don’t care who sees me.

I take my daughter to school before I’m ready. Now, hear me out. I used to always, ALWAYS get ready (clothes, hair, and makeup) before taking my girls to school. Now, I often take my girl with my hair pulled up into a messy bun. And sometimes – heaven forbid – I’m still in my sleepwear. But when I say this, I never, ever get out of the car. I just drop her off and then head back home. I do have boundaries!

I’m not getting sloppy.  I still care about my appearance. I’m just getting “comfortable.”

And it feels good.

It feels good to not have to look perfect all of the time.

It feels good to answer the door and know that I have no makeup on, but I can still be myself. It feels good to know people will accept me, knowing that they have seen multiple sides of me….not just my best.

I feel like I’m enjoying life more. I’m enjoying myself more.

These are just moments. Moments where it doesn’t matter as much if I’m in my best clothes and my hair is just right.  They are moments where I’ve decided to ease up on my expectations of myself.  Life has gotten busier, and I’ve decided that I don’t want to wear myself out more than necessary.

So, I’ve prioritized.

You know what? I like the new me. I like the prioritized “me.”  Why did it take me so long to understand that I didn’t have to wear makeup to drop the kids off at school?  No one even sees me, for heavens sake!

We are so hard on ourselves. These things may seem silly to some of you, but to others – you understand. You know the pressure we can put on ourselves to have it all together.

But when we can break down the absurdity of some of the expectations we put on ourselves, we can give ourselves permission to be “raw.” To be real. To be slightly wrinkled, tousled, and HUMAN.

It can be very loveable. It can be very endearing.

It can remind us, that underneath it all, we are ALL imperfect. And that’s okay.



5 comments:

quietspirit said...

Dionna: the plan you talk about is good. I am a senior citizen. I choose NOT to impress anyone with how I look. I dress casually even to go to church. Don't get me wrong, I like to look good and healthy but I choose to have my heart show people who I am and what I stand for. And, yes, I am slightly wrinkled and HUMAN.

Unknown said...

I hope this finds you and yours doing well. May we display your header on our new site directory? As it is now, the site title (linked back to its home page) is listed, and we think displaying the header will attract more attention. In any event, we hope you will come by and see what is going on at SiteHoundSniffs.com.

Unknown said...

It sounds like you're getting very comfortable and confident in your true self and that is incredible. To feel pretty when your clothes are wrinkled, no makeup, and messy hair is something that not everyone can do. But to hear you do it is lovely and inspiring. Keep up the beautiful work, I can't wait to see what else you do =]

Dionna said...

@quietspirit - I love that you are a faithful reader. Thank you for coming by so often and for leaving comments. It encourages my heart!

Jerry - Yes, you may link to my header. Thank you for listing me, and thank you for asking.

Danielle - I'm still working on being totally comfortable in my skin... but getting better. :) I do hope you'll visit again.

Unknown said...

Thank you so very much for giving permission. You can see your linked header under All, Beliefs and the United States. If you could say something (preferably good) about SiteHoundSniffs.com here and there, I would greatly appreciate it.