Day 226: Mantra Monday "Good enough is good enough"

Good Enough is Good Enough!

Getting married has definitely taken the edge off of my concerns about appearance. Some might accuse me of teetering on the edge of "letting myself go" but I don't think that's the case.  Instead, without a wedding looming, I'm simply feeling braver with my beauty choices; I take more risks, and am more forgiving of myself.  How do I know?  Two examples:

First: before the wedding I was too scared to use Retin-A as part of my skincare routine.  It's the absolute best way to keep my skin clear (and wrinkles at bay!), but it also makes my face peel and flake like crazy, especially in the first few months of use.  I was terrified to have flakey skin on my wedding day, so I stopped using it completely when I did away with mirrors.  In other words, I wussed out.   But a few weeks ago I started using it again, applying a pea-sized amount to my face on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (as suggested by the dermatologist who I no longer have enough health-insurance to visit).  Now, every few days, when I wash my face my skin kind of peels off in my hands, but I don't care anymore because I'm not about to be the center of attention at a wedding.  I exfoliate with a washcloth, slap on some moisturizer, and move along with my day.  Who's a wuss now?!?

Second: A few weeks before the wedding I paid almost $160 to have my hair cut and highlighted by - in my opinion - the best hairstylist in St. Louis (where I grew up, and where my parents live now).  Cinthia is amazing, and I wanted my hair to look fantastic on the big day. Having seen the photos, I know she did a stellar job.  But according to friends, the highlights are now growing out, my roots are growing in, and it's time for a touch-up.  Of course, I can't actually afford to have my hair colored professionally anymore (heck, I couldn't afford it the first time!).  So yesterday I decided to buy a box of hair dye at Walgreens and tackle the problem on my own.  For $10.

Not so light blonde...

I was nervous, don't get me wrong, but I've colored my own hair countless times in the past, so it seemed like a reasonable course of action.  My natural hair color is somewhere between medium-blonde and light-blonde, so I chose a box claiming to be "Light Natural Blonde".  I thought it might be fun to brighten things up a bit, while blending away the highlights.  

Except I don't think the color turned out exactly as I'd planned.  I followed the directions exactly, but after I dried my hair the ends looked a bit darker (and dingier) than they had before.  Ugh!  How bad is it?  Well... probably not too horrible.  I saw my friend Liz a few hours later, and she didn't say anything until I asked.  "Yeah, I noticed that it looks darker, but I just thought it might just be the light!" she admitted.  She's too kind.  Sigh...  Liz assured me that the highlights were gone, and that it definitely "didn't look like an accident."  I've decided that having hair that "doesn't look like an accident," - even if it's kind of dark and dingy - will have to suffice.  With luck, it will fade to my natural color and I won't even have to "touch up" the roots with more dark-n-dingy dye!  In the meantime, good enough will be good enough.

Oh, and Michael didn't! even! notice!  (Granted, he is colorblind AND currently suffering from a horrible bout of food poisoning, so probably wouldn't have noticed if I'd dyed it black!)  Anyway, my mantra for the week was almost "It's just hair, calm yourself girl!" but I decided that "Good Enough is Good Enough" had the potential to extend to other areas of my life.  Eating sporadic holiday munchies instead of 3 balanced meals?  Tomorrow will be better, but - for today - good enough is good enough.  Running late on tonight's blog post because your-husband's-got-it-comin'-out-of-both-ends-&-can't-keep-his-gatorade-down-unless-you-sit-with-him-with-a-timer-to-make-him-take-a-sip-exactly-every-30-seconds?  Yeah, good enough is gonna be good enough tonight!  The list could go on.

As a final note: "Good enough is good enough" is not about settling. It's about accepting the best we can do with what we're working with, and being proud of that, instead of feeling ashamed for our "imperfections."  


Who's with me?!  What will you be "good enough" at this week?

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