a day in the life

Isn't it funny how you find your mom somehow finagling her way into your daily life...through you?

I find myself seeing her in how I handle a situation, how I drink my tea, or even how I wear my make-up. We both like to capitalize on that red lipstick, and bam - do we blondes capitalize on Mary Kay.

As a tomboy, I guess if it wasn't for my mom, I really would never have discovered make up. We didn't go shopping for school clothes, let alone make up, until high school. That's when I got my first Mary Kay compact, which I still have more than 10 years later (fairly remarkable, really). Mom taught me how to purse my lips and brush my eyelashes against the mascara. She also told us girls to keep our "chest out, butt in" - who says that these days?! She certainly wasn't a booty call mother, but she believed in correcting our posture and ensuring we took care of whatever assets we had.

I'm not sure who taught my mom to put on make up. It certainly wasn't her mother, who to this day refuses to acknowledge her daughter's presence, let alone grandchildren. I've personally never met my maternal grandmother, but my sisters' horror stories mirror what my mother used to tell us behind tears growing up. She never knew why her mother hated her so much, and fed her chunk milk on the basement steps if it was a good day, and slammed her head against the wall if it was a bad day.

I'm just glad my mom taught me how to put on my make up.