The House Dress

This is the story of my addiction and subsequent intervention…keep reading.
I am a mommy.
As a mommy I find whatever I put on tends to get dirty FAST. If its not baby #1 or #2 its puke or thrown food. If none of the above; my life of cooking, cleaning and other motherly duties has made me a bit of a slovenly dresser. Not to say that I don’t dress up on occasion, I do, but if I am at home dressing up consists of yoga pants (my friend Christina helped me buy one in every color from Costco) and a mostly clean shirt.
I like to think that I am simply practical. Why wear nice clothes for the baby and sometimes Kyle(25 husband)? I could wear trash bags as pants and a box for a dress with cauliflower in my hair and JP (22, basement dweller) and Mac (19, JP's bff and employee) wouldn’t notice or care if they did.
However in San Diego I came to a realization.
I am a frumpy mummy.
It hit me when I made a casual allusion to my 'house dress.' It’s a black dress I wear at home all the time. It’s my cleaning, feeding, changing dress. I throw it on because it’s easy. I keep it on because I’m lazy and if I don’t leave the house I’ll wash it and wear it again the next day.
I THOUGHT THIS WAS NORMAL.
I have been friends with Stephanie (38, San Diego, like a sister to me) for almost 10 years. She has five kids and also cares for her husbands two ailing parents. She even recently acquired two golden retriever puppies. She home schools and is helping to plant a new Church called Roots Family in Temecula California. She is a super woman.
Stephanie has been a mentor to me in many areas of my life; worship, motherhood, marriage to name only a few. She taught me to play Piano and guitar and then scheduled me to play bass at church so I would be forced to learn that too. So when she told me she had to talk to me about something important, I paid attention.
Steph stammered and stumbled over her words, making excuses and trying to get out what she had planned. Finally I said “Come on Steph just say it!!!”
Steph “I have to talk to you about the house dress”
Me (laughing) “WHAT?!?”
Steph “While you have been here you have managed to wear normal clothes and do your makeup everyday.”
Me “ya”
Steph “I know you can do it at home too”
Me “But why would I?”
As Steph explained the value in showering regularly and putting on real clothes to me I realized I had had this exact same talk with my sister after the birth of her first baby. I had said “it’s good to shower and put on clothes in the morning, good for you and good for us.”
It is time to take my own advice, well I mean it’s almost time. THE CHALlENGE
Monday March 22 2010 I will begin a full week of wearing normal clothes, makeup and brushing my hair. I will look presentable when my husband comes home for lunch. I will look presentable when he gets home for dinner and I will NOT WEAR THE HOUSE DRESS OR YOGA PANTS FOR A WHOLE WEEK
Signed
Anita Catherine Broussard March 16th 2010
PS: Journal blog entries will help me chronicle the challenge