Everyone has heard of the “mom jeans”. If you haven’t, then I’ll bring you up to date. They are jeans that have been out of style for about 10 years and no longer flatter your figure. The victims are the women who spend all their time taking care of everyone else, only to wake up 10 or 15 years later to realize that they are indeed still alive.

My first child, I had fairly young so it wasn’t too challenging for me to feel the need to still keep up with trends and make sure that I had a few new things here or there. However as I got older and one child was replaced by three, I learned quickly how easily a woman could fall in the fashion trap of starting to blend in with the homeless. I don’t consider myself shallow, nor have I ever spent my whole paycheck on a pair of jeans, but I think that how you look can easily translate often into how you feel. It’s also representative of how well you are taking care of yourself to some degree.

After paying for 3 children, there’s little left over in the financial department. I’m fortunate, I have lots of help from family. Their kin tend to love to shop and a lot of their clothes are taken care of, but there’s still of course a major budget to live on. Sometimes I count the years til 18 but realize of course sometimes that can mean nothing in the life of parenthood. I won’t be one of the parents that signs away my life for my child and can’t take care of my own self. But of course that doesn’t mean that I won’t possibly be footing a bill here or there after there out of the house. The odds with three aren’t stacked in my favor.

So I try to do my best and get a few new pieces here or there along with their bills. I still don’t think I’ll make it to the barber every 6 wks or through the shame that I feel when I tell them how long it’s been since I got it cut last. No short, need to upkeep do for me for now. I suppose it will be awhile before I am spending hours to shop and have loads of money to do so with. However, if I’m at all conscious through this, I won’t be accused of wearing those mom jeans or putting everyone always in front of me either.