Jammies, Ponies, and Yoga pants...Oh My!

Earlier today I am getting ready to take my girls to one of their classmates birthday parties, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I reflect on something ( excuse the pun) that just hit me like a ton of bricks. Who am I primping for? Who am I blowing out my hair, curling my eyelashes, smudging my eyeliner for? Well, its not my husband because he is at work and by the time he sees this lovely masterpiece, lets face it, it will look like it has sat out in the rain overnight. It's surely not for the 12 to 17 preschoolers and toddlers that I will encounter at this soiree. No, as far as they are concerned all Mommies look the same..we just seem to have our own special scents.You know the ones; baby vomit, baby poop, curdled enfamil, baby soap, and maybe the scent of stale cheerios, or a combination of the aforementioned and the ever popular soap and baby love. So, who am I dressing for? It's not myself, because, try as I may, I just don't have the time and energy to be that into myself anymore.Though, I am making a very conscientious effort to invest more time into myself. I hear the more we put in, the more we get out.We'll see! So, again....who am I dressing for? I know its not for other men because, quite frankly, I think that radar went on the fritz the very minute that my wedding ring went on the finger. It's like we are genetically predisposed or perhaps its more like pathologically brain washed from birth to know that once that ring goes on, we are no longer allowed to be aware if other men are looking or flirting.And so we are not. Sure there are the occasional, accidental flirtations that we nostalgically catch glimpses of and are flattered by...who wouldn't be? We are, after all, married not dead. But as a rule, we generally are blissfully unaware.Then it dawned on me for whom we are truly dressing for...other Mommies. Let's take a look at the facts.They are the only people we normally see on a semi regular basis, their opinion does count to us, and we usually like to appear somewhat put together in their eyes. Whether we want them to approve or just don't want them to disapprove, that is our target audience.I'm not alone in this am I? I know most of us have tried the jump in the car in our Jammie pants and throw on a coat, go through the car drop off line and hope no one makes eye contact tactic. Well, actually I have not because I have heard too many times of the horror stories of the poor , unsuspecting Mommmy wearing her Jammies to drop off only to be suddenly called into the principals office or some other tragedy happening. It's sorta like that warning your Mom gave you about wearing clean panties because heaven forbid you get into a car accident and there you are, poor schlub, with your period panties on. Yeah,because that is what the EMS notices when they are freeing you from your burning vehicle with the jaws of life! Thanks Mom! Then there is , my very own personal favorite, yoga pants ( running shorts,tennis skirt..insert comfy athletic gear as you like) , t-shirt, and a ponytail.First,Come on, let's be honest, when I pull my hair back into that ponytail..I know, in my heart, no grown woman should be rocking a pony!Second, just because we are wearing our workout clothes..are we all actually working out immediately following drop off? I confess, normally, I am heading for a sweating session of Turbo Jam in my living room or a grueling walk around the neighborhood but on other days ( at least one), oh those "other" days, I drop my 4 year old off at school, walk back to my car, drive to my apartment, change back into my Jammies and have coffee on my sofa while reading Cosmo and I don't even break a sweat. The scary thing is that I think I am making an effort by actually putting on the workout clothes, that is my step up! Lord, what has my world come to? A few years ago, I would not have left the house for a million dollars without full face on and dressed appealingly to all who saw me. Now, who's to say if I care, if I don't, I think it depends on the day and my mood. How can we go from being so meticulous about our presentation to so profoundly unaffected? I do know one thing, Jammies and ponytails in public are unacceptable unless you are four or under.So that leads us back to my original question..who are we dressing for? We figured out its other Mommies, but why does some times it matter and sometimes it doesn't? I know that I never want anyone to look at me and say," Wow! She is really ugly" So, why wouldn't I try not to be? I ended up at the party looking somewhat presentable, clothes were cleaned, hair was blown out, icing was on the cake and it didn't take too much effort. So, why don't we do it every morning? Do we really think that the other Mommies and teachers deserve to be visually assaulted by our Jammies, bed head, ponytails, and (hmmhmmm) workout clothes? I, for one, say no. So, I am making a pledge to try and dress ...before I take my girls to school and greet the fine folks at preschool..and at the very least,I will definitely try to do so before my return visit of the day to pick them up from preschool:)See you all at 12:30, hopefully looking considerably better than I did at 9:30! LOL