The Mommy Uniform

You ladies know what I am talking about…the khaki capris, the Target t-shirt…the one we’ve been wearing for two years running. It could include a favorite pair of jean shorts, or (gasp) sweats. I’ve seen (and admittedly, worn) this lovely ensemble with sneakers or open toed sandals…and the toes haven’t been painted in weeks…months…maybe even years.

I never want to come and lay a burden on you. My whole goal is to encourage moms in our journey. I lay awake at night and wonder how I can best strengthen all of you. And sometimes, what I need to do is serve up a big heap of honesty.

After giving birth to Verity (and a subsequent tear in my spinal sac had left me with an incredible headache, unable to move!) it had been almost two weeks of laying on my bed…in my lair…of despair…stale air…head hurting beyond repair…and finally, after a plea for prayer (this rhyming is lasting way longer than I thought possible!) I felt…BETTER! And I was able to get dressed and put on my makeup! A solid “smokey eye” and my new lip gloss made me LOOK much improved, even if physically, I wasn’t all there. And then I remembered about a post on “mommy uniforms” I had wanted to write a while back.

One morning at a cross country meet, I surveyed my peers. Moms who had braved the early morning, coffee in hand, to come watch their children compete.  These moms all had on the standard mommy uniform that may have been comfortable to wear, but was not very flattering.  

And I’m thinking that was not the look these moms where going for. But the expression on their faces, the haggard appearance of their clothes, and the attitude that accompanied their less than glowing faces all said, “I hate this job. I’m not a happy mom. I can’t believe I have to be here this early for junior to run. I don’t care how I look. How quickly can we get this over with!”

Moms, if we were “professionals,” we would never show up for “work” looking like that. We would never go to an interview for a job in that condition, and not with that kind of attitude…at least not if we actually expected to be employed. But let me say this: those little whippersnappers we are carting all over town are “interviewing” us daily…and here is the question they ask and we answer as we live our life and “dress for success.”

Are we happy? Are we joyful?

Does our look say “I can do this job” or “I like my job” or even more importantly….”MY JOB IS CRITICAL AND IT MATTERS.”

See, what we wear, and how we present ourself speaks volumes about the priority we place on our value in our position. We communicate to our little girls about how motherhood is beautiful, and we can be a beautiful mother every day. We express to our son that his future wife will not only be pretty on their wedding day, but she will be beautiful as she lives her life with him, and brings new life into the world.

Maybe your not all big hair and Maybelline like me…and that is FINE. What I am asking you to consider is that we put our best foot forward as many days a week as we can. Represent our profession well! Represent your family in an attractive way when you step outside those four walls. Give yourself a shot of confidence every morning by just taking a few extra minutes for hair, to dress nicely and maybe a bit of makeup. It always makes a huge difference in my attitude when I look nice, even if my day isn’t going well. Somehow a haggard appearance makes me feel overwhelmed before I even get out of the gate in my routine. Give it a try as a new practice if you have fallen out of the habit…see if you can get dressed nicely and get your makeup on…(even perfume!)…let’s say for 7 days straight…and see what a difference it makes! Anybody wanna take the challenge?