Growing Up

With one semester of middle school under her belt, Michaela is thriving. She received awards from her P.E. and elective teacher and, with a 4.1 grade point average (her honors math class is weighted), she made the highest honor roll at school.

That’s part of why Mike and I gave the okay when Michaela expressed an interest in makeup. Last weekend, Michaela and I had a girls’ day that included a trip to Sephora. She was interested in eye shadow and blush; the makeup artists walked us through the different options (powder, crayon, liquid). Michaela had a definite opinion about what color she was interested in and ended up picking out a palette that had a nice mix of subtle colors. For blush, we got her the same shade I wear — something that never happened for me, given that my mom was white and fair skinned and I’m quite brown-skinned. We topped it off with makeup brushes, mascara (I couldn’t help myself), and some sparkly lip gloss. It was super fun!

When we got home, Michaela applied a full face of makeup and looked gorgeous. Not that she needs makeup to be pretty. She definitely doesn’t. But it was fun to see the subtle change in the way she carried herself. I’m thankful she has a good head on her shoulders; she’s worn the blush and lip gloss to school but has mostly kept it pretty natural.

I didn’t think I’d be the kind of person who was buying my 12-year-old makeup, but apparently I am. That being said, Mike and Michaela went to Best Buy the other day and Michaela was checking out hair straighteners. I am definitely not ready for that!