The Real Story Behind the Shiny Pictures
I can’t help but get a chuckle when I see these images from the Louis Vuitton charitable event for Heal the Bay. I mean when I see the picture I look pretty together, but if you had only been in my bathroom the hour before.
As a rule unless I am doing a photo shoot I don’t get hair and make up done. Why? Not because I don’t love to have an expert make me look more fabulous than on my best best day, but because I don’t have the time to start getting ready that long before an event. Not to mention that you never want to look too good in photos and then scare everyone when they seeing walking around the grocery store.
Here I am rushing to get ready to not be late since I am not only a guest to the event but one of the host. It’s not good form to be late. My two year old decides to take a late nap, and wakes up not only on the wrong side of the bed just off the bed all together. She is glued to my leg (which I am trying to moisturize) crying, and asking me to “pick me up”. Nice Mom trying to watch the time and keep her at bay. Then there is Reece my six year old whom I have invited to the event muddling through my make-up. She is not standing off to the side she has made herself a dead center obstacle to my surgical tools. Then, she decided that it sounds like her Dad and sister are going to have more fun, and she announces that she is standing me up; which then sets off a chain reaction in my husband’s attitude of slight put-off-ness that he will now have two girls to take to dinner and get to bed. Yeah, good chemistry we all have going in that master bath. Crying baby, edgy Dad, oblivious six year old, and butt clenching Mom.
Picture me standing there trying to negotiate first individual fake eye lashes and then just the whole lash itself. There I am with my glue and tweezers trying to look “naturally” enhanced. Good luck with that. Last I heard you needed four years at an Ivy League to get those babies on straight. Ditch that idea. Back to Dior BlackOUT mascara for some help. Oh, and by the way the only reason I was fiddling with those stupid lashes is I had a temporary lapse into thinking I needed them to look good. I must have seen a photo of the Kardashians somewhere that day. Who am I? Oh yea, and what do I want to do? I had to re jigger my strategy and make sure it was still lined up with ME.
I’m wearing flats with the dress simply because it’s so short. I wouldn’t mind busting out some hot pumps and rocking the red carpet at 6’6″. Nope no good. You don’t want to scare the children. The dress that I chose from Louis Vuitton is a lovely color and by the way the only thing pretty much that fit me in the store. So you see even if I didn’t like it, me at 6 ft 3 inches and 170 lbs is not squeezing into any samples. The point is that through out this quest I am reminded to keep my sense of humor and my sense of self. At the end of the day I was going to this event because it was a positive gathering, and maybe I needed to continue to focus on that. Not my eyelashes! Even though I’m smiling in the photo, and not letting them see me sweat; I did all my sweating before I got there.
Things are often not as they seem.
Laugh, keep it in perspective, and don’t take it personal. I needed to laugh about the craziness, focus on the purpose, and not take Laird’s reaction as a falter for his support.
Best, Gabby