Today (Saturday) my errands included a stop at the bank, and then a visit with Mom at the nursing home.
In front of me in the long line at the bank, was a young mother with a cute little girl in her arms... I'm certainly not a good judge of kids' age, but she looked to be two or maybe three years old. When I got behind her mom in line, the little girl looked up at me....once, twice, three, four times. I couldn't help but notice. By the fourth time, I finally smiled at her. That seemed to do the trick. She smiled back broadly, and only casually glanced my way a few times over the next couple of minutes, not intently like earlier. I wasn't sure what to make of it, but once her mom was finally at the teller, the little girl looked back at me and smiled one last time, so I returned the smile.
When their transaction was complete, they headed out to their car. Because my transaction was a quick one, her mom was still buckling her into the safety seat as I arrived at my car, which was parked right next to theirs, but with an empty space between us. As I unlocked my door, I thought heard a childlike "Hi," which I ignored. Then I heard it again...and looked over. The little girl had a big smile on her face and was sort of waving. I said "Hi there" and returned a big smile and a wave. She seemed satisfied and settled right down while her mom finished with the child seat, closed the door, smiled at me, and got in.
Not sure if the little girl clocked me. She probably was too young to know what she saw. But she seemed like she'd have been genuinely disappointed if "her new friend" hadn't said "hi" back. It's likely that if she paid attention, the mother undoubtedly clocked me, but at least the little girl was happy and contented with my response. Kids are so cute at that age!
I stopped by the billing office at the nursing home, to pick up an invoice for some things for Mom. The female billing officer and I were waiting for the invoice to print, so she inquired if she could ask a personal question. I said, sure, go ahead (expecting something drastic.) Her question had to do with whether I've been doing something to improve my complexion. "I guess what I'm trying to say is - your skin has been looking much better lately. Are you wearing foundation and powder?" OK, my makeup secret is out...I won't duck the issue.
"Yep, I am. Not only foundation and powder, but concealer too. I guess I'd better tone it down a bit, if it's that noticeable." "Oh no, it's not overly noticeable; I've watched your complexion improve so much these past several weeks. Please don't feel you have to stop. In fact, you really should keep applying it - makeup helps you look so much better, and younger too. At this point, you should even be wearing lipstick. That'll give your lips some definition and color, as well as add contrast to your pretty makeup."
Wow, what a shock - from a girl who sees me every day and thinks I really should be wearing makeup. What I didn't share with her, was that today, for the first time, I was actually wearing real lipstick at the nursing home - as opposed to tinted lip balm. Since it's several shades darker than my natural lips and I was concerned about it being noticed, I applied only a very light coat. Next visit, I won't be quite so shy...and it'll be fun to finally be able to use the makeup mirror in my car for its intended purpose!
Happy St Patrick's day to you all...
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