Gorgeousness.....it's all relative.

A very nice American lady just came round to view our old coffee machine, which has been up on Craigslist for a couple of weeks now. She was gorgeous. 9 months pregnant with baby no. 1 (6 days to go, apparently) and glowing. Blonde hair perfectly cut and blow-dried - not a strand out of place. Nails perfectly manicured. Make-up flawlessly applied and not a drop of sweat anywhere to be seen. Lovely perfume. Beautiful long, black maternity dress with gold and metallic black trim. Matching shoes and bag. Beautifully spoken and very polite. Sparkling white teeth when she smiled.

And there was I. Bags under my eyes after 3 hours' broken sleep last night. Wearing an old race t-shirt and cycling shorts (I was working). Hair not brushed, scraped back into a pony tail. Legs need waxing. Nails all messed up with chipped varnish after scrubbing the walls in Jenny's room over the weekend. Cracked skin on my feet because of all the running and the bleach-y water on the floor in Jenny's room while we were scrubbing. Bright blue kinesio tape all over my legs because of my shin splints. Lines, wrinkles and rolls of flab. Tired and stressed, which probably showed. A bit sweaty - no a/c in the office. I don't think I smell but you never know. She did beat a swift retreat after looking at the coffee machine....

I do admit to feeling more than slightly inadequate when she first came in. I've never been one for spending hours getting myself ready before going out in the morning - I own a hairdryer and straighteners but maybe use them a few times a year? But I used to put a bit of make-up on, every day, and perfume. I used to make sure my hair was brushed and had been washed and conditioned every day. I never let my roots show more than half a centimetre before doing to get the colour done. I used to get my legs waxed every 3-4 weeks without fail and would never go out with chipped nail varnish on my fingers. So I felt like a bit of a scarecrow next to her flawless skin, perfect hair and make-up and general, all-round gorgeousness.

Then I remembered how she is going to feel and look in about 6 days time and how many weeks are ahead of her of sore boobs, lack of sleep, night feeds, grabbing a nap when you can, wearing old clothes so that it doesn't matter when the baby pukes on your shoulder or the nappy leaks while you're feeding, in fact not getting dressed till mid-afternoon and barely getting a chance to drag a comb through your hair, let alone wash it and use a hairdryer, and make-up? Make-up? And I grinned inwardly. Hehe.

And then I remembered how, just the other day, I said something to the kids about needing to lose weight because I was too fat....and Josh said "No, you're NOT too fat, Mummy - you're just right, just the way you are. I love you." He thinks I'm gorgeous, bless him.

It's all relative, gorgeousness. I mean...I would love to lose some weight and I absolutely WILL be getting my legs waxed next week, and I'm just about to go and take the chipped varnish off my nails and brush my hair....just because, you know, someone else might come round.... But I'm not going to lose any sleep over that stuff.

I hope the lady enjoys being a Mum and doesn't care about her hair/nails/make-up for a few weeks, while she makes the most of the sheer joy of having a tiny baby, totally dependent on her. I hope she realises that those things really aren't important - or at least, not as important as that baby - and doesn't beat herself up for not being able to achieve the same level of gorgeousness as she currently does. She will still be gorgeous, just in a different way. I hope she knows that.