SQTF 73: As Seen On TV

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I

Remember being a young teen and wishing that your mom would let you wear makeup, ladies? Somehow, I lost that desire by the time I reached high school (and would presumably have been allowed to start wearing it if I'd asked). By the time I cared again partway through college, I was too self conscious about not knowing what I was doing to really experiment and find a look I liked; a friend taught me some basics so I could avoid looking completely socially inept for job interviews--a girl definitely can't get away with going bare-faced to an interview in media!--but the art of applying makeup really remains one I don't trust my skills in, and so I only rarely attempt it.

Yes, I know, it's one of those practice-makes-perfect things, but I just don't have the patience. Or to be more accurate, Little Bear doesn't: he yelled and yelled today because I did have to "put my face on" and do something other than the usual braid with my hair. Toddler tantrums are definitely an understandable excuse for not doing this every day, right?

II

How do you do it, those of you who wear it regularly? Little Bear wakes up as soon as I do, so getting up and doing it sans toddler isn't an option. And all I did was twist my hair up, hairspray it, put lotion and powder (foundation? I don't know these words) on my face, and add lipstick: 5 minutes. But 5 minutes spread over the course of a half hour as the toddler screamed and sobbed and brought me stories and pushed me away from the mirror because I was apparently doing something completely unacceptable. I didn't even do "real" makeup! It would be kind of nice to pretty up more often, become more comfortable with it and learn to do it better, but I can't just let him scream.

III

The most common advice I get for how to do anything with a toddler who wants my undivided attention is "just do it. He can play with something for five minutes; he needs to learn to entertain himself." But can he learn that, really? At this age? This advice usually comes from people who have had so many kids, it's hard to believe that they actually remember what it was like to just have one. And when you have an older kid or two or ten whom you can tell to entertain the baby for five minutes while you do X, of course it makes sense that accomplishing those little things isn't really that big a deal. The youngest learns to occupy himself without his mom's undivided attention by watching the older kids do so. The first, though, doesn't have anyone to set that example for him. And if the kid actually needs something, if Mom is the only other person in the apartment, she can't exactly delegate the job to someone else...

IV

Anyway. Putting on makeup with an angry toddler shoving you out the door is frustrating, but I did it anyway today because next Wednesday is the 41st anniversary of Roe v Wade, and I agreed to stop by two of the local tv stations today for brief interviews on the anniversary and the prayer vigil that the local Right to Life group is planning for that evening. I enjoyed being back in that environment; I haven't been in front of a camera since college. One studio was...underwhelming...compared to what I worked with in school, but the other felt pleasantly familiar.

V

I'll try to remember to say something again early next week, but if you're local: Come join Interior Right to Life at the Cushman Street Bridge on Wednesday, January 22, from 5-6pm for silent prayer and to hold signs reminding passers-by to pray for mothers and babies, and that abortion continues to take so many innocent lives in our community and across the country. Bring your kids: they are a testimony to the beauty of life and the gift that children are. If it's chilly, you can warm up in Immaculate Conception on the northbound side of the bridge.

VI

And pray that this nice warm weather sticks around until then! Goodness, standing outside for an hour at nearly 30 degrees above zero would be incredibly pleasant compared to some recent years.

VII

And in almost totally unrelated news, we have somehow found ourselves to be the proud (?) owners of a ridiculously large television. (Which is related in that now maybe we might catch my interviews when/if they run...) We'd been perfectly fine without a tv for these past few years, but with the Winter Olympics coming up, we started talking about looking for an inexpensive tv so that we could watch some of the events. And I'm sure Matt, who works with high quality video equipment and streaming every day, had already been wishing for a better screen than the laptop for movie nights. We started doing research into the different options. Because he's used to top-of-the-line equipment at work, and I was more of the smallest-and-least-expensive-possible mindset, we were having trouble finding something... And then Matt came across a remarkable deal on Craigslist: the size he wanted, for the price I wanted, on a brand he trusted. Sold. We have yet to watch anything on it, and Little Bear is so very confused by the giant black thing laying on the floor that doesn't do anything, but Mama and Daddy won't let him touch it. Oh child, just you wait.