Life (Instructions Not Included): Rule 1 - It is never too late to learn to be 'girlie'

Once upon a time, I was a wee little strawberry blonde child who loved girlie things.

Time passed and next thing I knew I was an over-worked, over-stressed mum and career woman who was lucky to have time to have a shower, let alone the energy necessary to be 'girlie'. So, as often happens for working mums, my own self-care fell to the side in favor of dealing with work and our darling geekling.

Big mistake.

Now, as a forty-'mumblesomething' I am trying to 'relearn' how to be 'feminine'. I can't decide if this is pathetic or a good thing.

Things I have discovered:

• I wish I had taken better care of my body in my 20s and 30s instead of buying into the 'immortality' viewpoint so common to that age group. BIG mistake -- by 35 my body was starting to fall apart. Now I've got no thyroid, a cardiac stent, and enough prescription meds (mostly for my heart) that I should rattle when I walk. While I am a believer in 'better living through chemistry and pharmaceuticals', I hate the side effects that come with the medicines that are keeping me alive. These days the bane of my existence is swollen legs, which cause pain and numbness, no matter what I do (not even the ridiculously expensive pneumatic leg pump can fix them most days).
• Pampering myself in the bath is as much fun as an adult as it was when I was a teen. Seriously, I don't know WHY I stopped indulging in wonderfully scented bath products and time spent on grooming, but I regret the years I have no missed out on.
• Layering bath gel, lotion and body spray is a WONDERFUL thing! I never understood the need to have multiple products with the same scent when I was a teen. As an adult I have developed allergies to most standard perfume additives and have lived a life devoid of perfume for the last five years. It has only been the last two weeks that I took a chance and tried some scented bath products and discovered that if I layer the bath gel, lotion and body spray, I get a light (but pleasing) scent that lasts all day long and doesn't set my allergies off. *happy squee*
• I feel so much better about myself when I wear the things that make me happy. This seems like a 'no-brainer' but I spent years trying to please others and as a result, I wasn't pleasing myself. So with the new job starting, I've been scouring end of summer sales to rework my wardrobe and it is making a remarkable difference to my mood (of course, that could be the Prozac).
• The right shade of red lipstick can make my whole day. Mind you, I am still trying to find the right shade of red for a pale redhead (flame ombre these days), with blue eyes and a raging bout of rosacea that nothing seems to relieve. That said, I think the search for the 'perfect' red lippy is the modern working mum's 'holy grail' quest.

At forty-mumble I am only starting to get the hang of this 'adulting' thing. I hope I start to handle it better before I turn 50!