KEEPING UP APPEARANCES

At some point every morning, I take a look in the mirror. Most of us do. After all, we want to make sure we are giving some semblance of a groomed appearance.

Even though we take a look, how many details do we miss?

With a shirt, pants, tie and belt hanging
on the bathroom door already,
most of the pieces are in place.

I've never been much for appearances. Sure, there's an effort to look presentable, but we're not expecting Ralph Lauren to call for fashion advice any time soon. Most days the outfit will at least cover the basics, even if whatever look I come up with doesn't cause anyone to take notice. 

 The last couple days, I can only <i>hope</i> nobody has noticed. See, it's been two weeks since my return to work following the birth of our first child. During the weeks of parental leave, daily outfits were, as they say, casual. Actually, on several days, clothing changes were optional. I can't lie. There was more than one time that I never got out of the clothes I slept in. When you are waking up to change a diaper or give a bottle every couple hours for days on end, it's easy to lose track of morning and night.

Now that work life has started up again, I have to re-learn how to get dressed. To be clear, I am getting most of the important stuff - shirt, pants, socks and underwear.

It's the other details I've been forgetting. Last Thursday, it was noon before I realized I was not wearing the shoes I had intended to put on that morning. A day later, I made it until 2 p.m. before realizing that I was not wearing a belt. Yesterday, it was my tie, which was crooked, which was pointed out by a colleague at 11 a.m. just before the second meeting of the day. Actually, the tie I don't feel so bad about. Doesn't matter that I wear one several days a week… I rarely tie it right. 

Maybe I'm distracted in the morning. After all, I freely admit being more concerned with spending 10 minutes of awake and happy time with my son before heading off to work. 

Socks, t-shirt and underwear... check.

Maybe I am more tired than usual. Possibly, but I've never been much of a morning person. Several years ago I forgot to rinse conditioner from my hair, which led to a very strange hair day. Even in those days, I almost always put together a full outfit. 

That's the goal this morning. To help this effort, I picked out my clothes last night. Everything was waiting in the bathroom this morning. 

I woke up, showered and got dressed (shaved yesterday, so no need today). No thinking involved.

We've got it all covered today. Well, at least we look like we do.