What drives humans to make the same mistakes, generation after generation? Why do our children refuse to learn from our missteps? It is painfully uncomfortable to watch Sarah doing the same stupid thing that I did at her age. Do I become my own mother and aggressively but pointlessly interfere? Do I attempt logic with the illogical teenage brain? No matter what I do, it is happening anyway. Yes, smart, kind, funny Sarah is . . . sigh. . . wearing blue eyeshadow. I must go cry now.
Factor in that teenage girls are set to automatically reject anything their mother says or suggests and you can count on fighting a losing battle. But my mom had a brilliant solution to my horrific eye make-up adventures … Mary Kay! She and my best friend’s mom got together and had a Mary Kay rep come and give a demonstration on proper make-up application technique. And it worked! Gone was the cobalt eye shadow, half inch thick eyeliner, globbed on mascara and clown-cheek rouge. We listened to the rep because she was Not Our Mom. I still use most of those techniques today! Timeless, classic makeup never changes!
Anni has done fairly well with her makeup, except for the eyeliner. It’s like a mood barometer. The thicker it is, the more depressed she is. Some days, she’s total Goth … others, clean and fresh-faced. It’s a handy indicator of how she’s feeling.
I wish I had some pictures of you in the blue to share… I looked at all the old pictures I could find, and you were either hiding your face or scowling at the camera. No blue, anywho.
Oh, I forgot to mention… Sarah is SO you.