The Colors of Christmas

Red and Green on everything -- for they are the colors of Christmas.

Today we headed out to our annual Mops Christmas Brunch. Oldest, Middleson, and Babyboy dressed festively in red. I, on the other hand, went for a color I call Christmas-tree-trunk-brown. I don't own anything red. Being in the midst of the OSU Buckeyes outfitted in scarlet and gray, I could probably be arrested for not wearing red. I wear gray on game days.

Okay, that is beside the point. Before I go any further let me explain that today's post has nothing to do with my time on the boys turf, but MY time on MY turf. I truly believe it contributes to better mothering and equips me to spend time on the their turf.

So, being the girly-girl that I am, having my hair semi-fixed, my face make-uped, and my body clothed (and not pajama-ed) was truly exhilerating. After feasting on secret-recipe chocolate chip cookies and chicken salad croissants, it dawned on me that my lips were dry and most certainly not sparkling as they were when I arrived. Not that anyone else would care. This is THE group of women that I love so much because no one does care about that external stuff. Come as you are. I reached for my purse and discreetly snatched my lip gloss. I unmirroredly re-applied my sparkling neutral tone and smacked my lips with satisfaction. As I returned the gloss to its rightful pocket, terror filled my mind. What I applied to my lips was a lip gloss that was returned to me by a a Mary Kay customer! It was in the DARK RED category!!!! I didn't apply lightly. I don't wear red clothes. I most certainly don't wear red lips. Hoping that no one was watching, I wiped my lips furiously with a one-ply napkin hoping to remove all of the red stain possible. But, we all know red lip color is like a permanent tattoo. It remains. Forever. I could just imagine what I looked like and now my cheeks started to match.

"Nicole the red-lipped mommy, had some very rosy lips. And if you ever saw them, you would start to do some flips." Please sing now to the tune of Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer.

It was then, I decided to take another very light gloss and strategically apply it like paint over primer. I took a deep breath and hoped for the best.

Ironically, several gals shared their most embarrassing moments today. I was living mine out in real time.

I learned a great lesson today. Always, and I mean always, look at your lip color before applying it. And, Red, Green, and Brown are the official colors of Christmas in my home.