Women and "Getting Ready"

You ever think about the amount of time we spend wasting time? I mean, I'm sure the majority of you that read this thing are women. And women for some reason are notorious for taking ass loads of time just to "get ready" everyday. And as the importance of an occassion increases, so does the amount of time a woman will spend "getting ready".

I will give you an example. If you are getting ready for work, it may take you about 45 minutes to shower, get your hair combed, put on your make up, find an outfit to wear, etc. Forty-five minutes isn't too long of a time for most women. But lets say you are going on a first date with a man that you have fancied for months now. Add some girlfriends and another 30 minutes to your routine. How about a special dinner with your husband or a special ceremony held in your honor? Plan on at least 2 1/2 hours to get ready.

Last year, my boyfriend's step brother was getting married and I had the pleasure of hanging out with the women of the bridal party. I'm always with men (not in a slutty way, come on guys), so it was nice to be with some women. Needless to say the high amounts of estrogen were at times overwhemling over that weekend, but it was a cool observe women enjoying each other. So that Sunday was the wedding ceremony and the bride woke up a 8 a.m. to start the process of getting ready. FOUR (4) HOURS LATER she was ready to take her first set of pictures. Of course she looked gorgeous, but 4 HOURS!!! Why can't women get married in burlap sacks? When men get married, they spend most of the wedding day golfing or playing basketball. Then 20 minutes before the ceremony begins, they remember "Oh yeah, I'm getting married today" and race back to the hotel to slosh some Listerine in their mouth, slap on their tux, and make sure to wear lots of cologne to hide the smell of sweat build up on their backs.

I don't know if many of you guys know this, but when I was in high school, I used to chemically straighten my hair (perm is what most black people say). Anyway, there were many reasons why I stopped (we won't go into them here). But do you really want to know the main reason why I stopped? It is because I am completely lazy. You see, when you have permed hair, you have to do all sorts of things to keep it looking fresh. Touch ups every 2 months, wash and sets every 2 weeks, deep conditioning every month so your hair doesn't fall out from being so dry from the harsh chemicals you put on them in order to keep it straight. Did I also mention this cost a fortune and requires much time in a salon, just to do hair! No wonder celebrities like Beyonce and Christina Aguilera wear weaves, wigs, and hair extentions. The chemical processes, heat styling and excessive products just kill your hair.

So it goes without saying that when it comes to making myself presentable to the world, I do the BARE MINIMUM. Shower, deodarant, chapstick. You're lucky if I even put on lotion (which I have to do in the warmer months because crusty legs and feet are just not a good look). And forget about make-up. To me it is just another waste of time and money.

Another reason why I'm so terribly minimalistic with my daily routine is because I feel there are better things I could be doing. Like cleaning my house, working on my business, and of course, knitting.

So my final argument is this. Are you a knitter who always complains about not getting enough knitting done? If you find yourself spending hours in the bathroom getting ready for the day, think about redirecting that time to knitting. I'm sure you'll get a lot more done and feel a whole lot better about yourself in the end for accomplishing so much. That would mean forgoing make up application, elaborate hair styling, and maybe leg shaving if you could handle it. But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE. Shower daily, brush your teeth, and if you plan on showing some skin, make sure those areas being shown are well moisturized. That's my two cents, what's yours?