BEING BRAVE!

Today was a day requiring courage.

Was I going to speak to an audience of thousands?

Appear on TV?

Lift my Personal Best in the gym?

Take an exam?

Go for an interview?

No – none of these.

It was something far more mundane. Something that most of you might do on a daily basis without batting an eyelid.

I was going to go for a walk without make up!!

Let me give you the background. During lockdown my eyesight changed. Suffering only from slight myopia, I suddenly required glasses for reading. At the same time, my distance vision was becoming blurred. I tried varifocals but gained no clarity. Refracted light meant I never recognised anyone until they were virtually on top of me. Driving was impossible due to the glare of oncoming traffic. If the sun shone, I literally couldn’t see anything at all. Sunglasses made it worse, as everything went black.

The verdict – cataracts. I thought this was for older people. If so, I am one now!

On Monday, I had the first procedure on my right eye. The left will be in 2 weeks. After two days, the improvement is pronounced. Everything appears super clear through my right eye and I am so relieved and grateful that the op was a success. Although the procedure takes 10 minutes, it is still classed as surgery with a list of do’s and don’ts that need to be taken seriously. What you CANNOT do is as follows:

1. Exercise (except walking)
2. Bend down
3. Housework – I quite liked this one
4. Lift anything heavy
5. Sleep on the side of your operated eye
6. Wash your face – I know – AND it gets worse
7. Wash your hair (unless you can do this without getting your face wet)
8. Use skin cream
9. Wear makeup – aaah!!

Apart from washing, the rest apply for a period of 2 weeks PER EYE. This means no makeup, gym, yoga, coffee with friends and all the other things I love until 7th February. Yikes! I am a very active person and there is no way I can sit in the house for that long without combusting (if that’s the word).

Most of you are probably wondering why the no makeup rule is such a big deal.

For me, makeup gives me confidence. It’s not that I think I’m ugly, I just have a face that needs ‘colouring in’ to look healthy. Without it, I look like the person on 10 Years Younger as they were ‘before ‘ their makeover.

Aside from sleeping, I wear a full face for every activity including exercise. I once tried to adopt a pale, neutral lipstick instead of my beloved red. Instead of having a healthy glow, I looked drained of life. I remember the sales girl desperately trying to persuade me NOT to buy it. That’s how bad I looked. At least I haven’t gone as far as some of the younger girls. They ‘set’ their makeup using a blast of hairspray so it won’t run if they sweat. Who knew?

Today, my pupils have reverted back to their normal size. The sun is out and I just couldn’t spend another day cooped up watching TV or sitting in front of my laptop. So I channelled my big girl bravery, and sallied out of the house with an almost bare face. You didn’t really expect me to go out without my lipstick did you? Come on. Even a brave girl needs some support! Admittedly, I took a route where I was less likely to bump into anyone I knew. But it’s a start – right. So credit, where credit’s due.

My next courageous act will be to ‘face’ my colleagues on zoom later this week. Luckily, there is always the opportunity to turn off the video if I chicken out.

Are you like me? Do you need cosmetics or some other prop(s) to enable you to show up with confidence and panache? Or are you one of the brave/lucky ones who just loves the way you look as nature intended?

Would love to hear.