– Putting On My Face.

I’m generally not a very “fun” mom….I don’t run around being goofy very often, or start spontaneous water balloon fights.

But occasionally, I let loose a little.

Ivy is four and a half, and right now, she wants to be just like me. She sits with me as I get ready to go out, carries a little purse around full of her treasures. She has asked me several times, as she watches me putting on makeup, if she could put it on me.

Oh, no, not this time or maybe later, I’d say.

But when?

I’ll let you put makeup on me sometime when we’re not going anywhere.

Honestly, I just wanted her to stop asking. I wasn’t going to let her do it before I went out in public, obviously, but I also didn’t really want her to do at home. Why? Who knows. Like I said, I’m not a “fun” mom.

But, last week, she asked me if we were going anywhere. I told her no. She asked if she could do my makeup.

I sighed. Maybe in a little while. I was on my laptop, doing who knows what. Why did I tell her no?

You know what, Ivy? Why don’t you sit by me here and you can do it.

So she did. At first, I was willing it to be over with. I told her the ground rules (no mascara! no cheek stain!) and she tried hard to get around those.

But once I relaxed and she settled in, we had fun.

She applied approximately 11 layers of lipstick, 13 layers of lip gloss, and 27 layers of blush. Bronzer, eye shadow, highlighter. Strategic. Precise. Grown up.