Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Beauty is Vain

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)


I've been running behind lately. I do not like to reach lunch time without meeting the goal of taking a shower and getting dressed for the day. I know, some of you are laughing. Lunch time, really? But it's the way my schedule works. I get up early enough to drink coffee with Edwin before he leaves, grade some school work, and exercise before breakfast with the kids. Then the school day begins, and time starts running away from me. We take a break around 10:30, and I try to scramble into the shower and be dressed, dry, and made up by 11:00.

Thirty minutes seems like plenty of time, doesn't it? But somehow that 30 minutes goes by so fast I run out of time. There's no time for make up. Or maybe my hair is left to dry itself (not a good outcome!). And sometimes I do not even make it into the shower. So, school starts back at 11:00 and it is time for lunch before I know it, and there I am, still in my exercise clothes. Ugh. If Edwin gets to come home for lunch he gets his wife in no better condition than when he left in the morning.


So I have decided to take a look at why 30 minutes is not enough time for me, to put it in a very southern way, to "get ready" (I did not use the word fix, at least!). I have come up with a few reasons:
1. I am a piddler who is too easily distracted. This is the main reason, I am sure. That break is so nice! I can just check Facebook, call my sister, start dinner, do some laundry, finish the Monopoly game with the kids, you name it...
2. I get interrupted, mostly by my children. I know, I am the parent. They interrupt me because I allow it. I need to work on that.
3. Oops! There is no #3. It's pretty-well summed up with numbers 1 and 2.

Looking at that, I think that in the end I may have to get up earlier and "get ready" before school. But I really am not ready to go there yet. Here's my plan. Tomorrow I will set the stopwatch on my phone at the very moment I enter my room to "get ready," and see how long it takes. I will try hard not to become distracted or allow interruptions. Let's just find out how long it takes me to take a shower, get dressed, dry my hair, and put on some make up. We're not talking special occasion here, just trying to be clean and look nice for my husband and family. (There are lots of reasons to do this, which sound like the makings of another post in my mind for later.)

Anyone want to join me? I'd love to know how long it takes you to get ready, to see if I am being ridiculous, and to spur me on to better uses of my time. So time yourself; see how long it takes for you to do your basic getting ready routine for your normal day (staying home or going to work, whatever is normal for you). Then report it here in the comments.

Ready, set, go!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll try that tomorrow morning and see what happens. Of course I don't have the distractions of children but getting breakfast ready, dispensing pills/vitamins, e-mail and facebook are always there and there is the game addiction thing. Tomorrow I have to leave for an early continuing ed class where I have to be bright and perky by 8:30 or no credit. That will compare a little better to your schedule. We'll see how long it takes as opposed to the mornings where there is nothing on the agenda. What time do you start school? Louise

Tracey said...

OK, we're alone here Louise! :) We start school at 9:00. We do breakfast, chores, and morning devotions from 8:00-9:00.

It took me 34 minutes, though I did get interrupted once. I think I have to plan on that as a real possibility unless I want to get up earlier and get ready while the kids are still in bed!

More later!

Meisje said...

It took me 34 minutes this morning, too. Sundays take a little longer. I do read while I dry my hair and brush my teeth, which I know slows me down a bit (I have to turn pages!), but it's worth it.

Meisje said...

It took me 34 minutes this morning, too. I wasn't interrupted, but I know I add a few minutes because I read while I brush my teeth and dry my hair. It's worth the extra time, though -- I get a lot of reading done, and I do a better job flossing and brushing, particularly if the book is good.

Meisje said...

I may have just submitted that twice; I thought it disappeared the first time. :-P

M. Helseth said...

Okay, I'm up for this. Tomorrow I'll see how long it takes me but I don't usually exercise in the morning. (Although I intend to start the day after I have this baby, Lord willing!)
I don't think it takes me long to get ready but I do have a pretty big distraction: an almost 3 year old that has a habit of taking out a million toys, mommie's high-heeled shoes, books, coins, her Brown Bear - just about everything while I'm trying to "fix" myself up. We've been working on that and it's getting better. Now her mess is mainly only in her room. But we'll see what tomorrow brings...

Tracey said...

Meisje, you are making me feel better! Thanks! I read sometimes too, it's part of my piddling.

(And I published your comment twice since you added more the second time.)

Marla, I can't wait to hear how long it takes you. Even though people are willing to pay for your beauty I bet it takes you less time than most. You have that natural beauty!

M. Helseth said...

Tracey, what a nice thing to say! But now people will be expecting this ravishing beauty if they ever meet me - thanks a lot!
Well, it took me about 15 minutes to do my makeup but only because I did a tad more than usual - I was headed to the Galleria. :) Then I had to take of Grethe for a little bit and then did my hair which took all of 10 minutes b/c I just pulled it back. So on a day when I see more people it takes about 25-30 minutes. If I'm home all day or if my "public" is just Cub Foods customers :) it probably takes 15 minutes total - I either do no makeup or mascara, powder and "lis-skip" as my daughter calls it.
Probably more than you all ever wanted to know...

:)

Bryonie said...

Not sure I want to do this. All I know is that it takes me way too long. And Josh would most definitely agree!

Jacey said...

Hey, just saw your post! I'm always curious how long it takes me exactly, too! I'll time myself tomorrow and let you know. And tomorrow is a "hair day" (I have "hair days" and "non-hair days" now that I have long hair), so that'll be a real test!

M. Helseth said...

Hi Tracey,
You should do that post about why it's good to look presentable for your husband and family. I'm a big believer in that although I don't always do it. But I do think it's nice for our husbands to find us pleasant to look at when they come home, and it's something you actually have to make an effort at when you work in the home all day...right? :)

Tracey said...

Marla, you read my mind. I am working on that one! But working at home is not leaving me much time! :-)