Mirror, Mirror on the wall....will I be liked?

This past weekend I was privileged to chaperon our youth at a winter convention.  Oh my!  Want to remember what it was like to be 12+?  Sponsor youth at any event!  I have to laugh.  The very things that annoyed me this weekend are the very things I did to my own youth adult leaders.  Note to self: send apology letters immediately to those saints!!!!

First off, no girl can make up her mind.....at all.  Period!

"Come with me to the bathroom; I have to go."
"Nah, I'm going to get a juice."
"Okay; I'll go with you" (she says as she is wiggling on one foot, then the other).

"Do you want to head over to the auditorium?"
"No, I'm going to talk to ______(fill in a name)."
"Yeah, me too; I want to see if _____(fill in a name) will go to the bathroom with me (still wiggling on one foot, then the other)."

When girls get into a tribe, they lose all sense of being; it's an acceptance thing.  It is also a time of discovery.  Who do I want to emulate?  Who am I?  Will I be liked?  Will I stand out? (Heavens, please don't let me call attention to myself).

That is why they are in front of the mirror so much.  Our group stayed in a dorm with about 50 bunkbeds.  Most adult leaders could not get in front of a mirror due to the youth masses.  Those teens primped and primed and checked themselves throughout the day.  I could have taken a lesson from them.


Most of the time I don't wear make-up at these conferences.  I barely wear make-up at all.  I have a love/hate relationship with my mirror.  I don't like who's looking back at me and sometimes I don't recognize that person!  Usually I forget I'm wearing the stuff and I rub my eyes and rub off a whole made up eye.  That was not the case this past weekend.  I was leading a small group, so I thought what the heck....let's look nice for the kids! Wrong!!!!

I brushed a little eye powder on those hazel babies and penciled in an outline underneath and coated my few eyelashes with a coat of mascara.  Checking myself out in my tiny make-up mirror, I looked presentable.  I immediately got out into the cold and walked to the dining hall.

Funny thing about the cold and mascara.  If it isn't completely dry and you are scrunching up your face to keep the wind out of your eyes....

Good morning, Bright Eyes!!

 You look something like this; only I had mascara dots over my eyes too!  And here's the funny thing, I didn't notice till I went to the bathroom AT LUNCH!!!  I went the whole morning.... and through my whole morning small group session.... and walked and talked to people (adults included) on the way to the dining hall.  NO ONE TOLD ME!!!  Most of our life lessons today say "Accept people" "don't be judgmental."  Well, for heaven's sake, please tell me when I have mascara spiders walking down my face!

This weekend was not without its "aha" moments for Strawberry.

We all come from different places.  Each story tells or reminds us of a different event happening in our lives at that particular time, in that particular place.

 I am thankful each time I go to these events.  It is a reminder of where I've come from and who I am today because of the love and acceptance I received as a teen.

It also reminds me HOW OUT OF TOUCH I AM!  LOL  Even working with youth each week, I am clueless.  So  I am thankful for these events because it keeps me humble.  I am not the greatest youth leader on the planet.  I am quirky and awkward and old.  And you know what?  I'm fine with that!

I've gotta run; I have to go look to see if sleep buggers are hanging from my eyes and toothpaste residue hasn't formed on my chin!