Snapshot of a Mom

I studied Henry James’s Portrait of a Lady in undergrad and grad school. This is how I think someone (without the literary merit of James) might capture a momentary image of me today. I don’t have time to sit for a portrait, so a selfie will have to do.

Here’s the preschool-bound mother in her natural habitat: the car. 

Notice the mirror strap attached to her headrest because the back seat is filled with car seats and children who need to look at themselves while being transported. Her flannel shirt covers a T-shirt only minimally stained with spit-up. (She used a wipe to remove most of the mess.) And, yes, she did sleep in that T-shirt last night and merely add the flannel to protect against the slight chill in the air. Give her some credit for applying deodorant. She hasn’t completely lost her sense of social decency. 

She also took a minute to apply mascara, although the rest of her minimal makeup routine didn’t make the cut this particular morning. And who really needs mascara when you have sunglasses to protect from glare and cover the bags under your eyes from yet another sleepless night?

Her ponytail corrals semi-clean hair that was washed somewhat recently, so she feels a certain amount of ok about that situation. Also, her jeans are clean, so she’s basically winning at life.

Not pictured is the cup of coffee and protein bar that compose her breakfast because the children have been fed at the kitchen table, but alas, her mug of coffee almost never gets consumed before ensconcing herself and her offspring in their vehicle.

The coffee is tepid at best, and yet savoring it one sip at a time provides a bastion of peace amidst the traffic and the ticking clock that accompany the twice-weekly drive to preschool. Never mind the fact that she will yet again have coffee breath when delivering her daughter into the capable hands of her teachers. You can’t have it all, and she considers perfect breath an equitable sacrifice for caffeine. 

And there you have it: my pre-child self would have changed her shirt and chewed some gum, but I’m pretty happy with this version of myself. ‘Cause pre-child me has no clue how much she will love the little people who fill up her car’s back seat. And some days I manage to wrangle two kids into the car AND look put-together. So, I pretty much have it all, right? 😉