My better half LOVES beauty. Things not pretty make his face contort. And as fairly new parents of twins - things in our home are not always looking cute. Crayon markings can appear on non-traditional canvases, shelf decor can be thrown to the floor and toys can overtake every nook and cranny in our home. Fortunately, my husband's love of all things beautiful keeps our home in a state of constant evolution. It even, to my surprise, pushes our relationship to new heights as well.
Let's talk examples. Scuff mark on our white wall? He Speedy Gonzalez' his paint supplies to eliminate it. Uneven frame hung in one of our rooms? Not on his watch. My man is so good, he can walk into our apartment and SENSE when one of his houseplants has a leaf turning brown. He's that good. Imperfections drive him nuts. I, of course, am the opposite. Prior to meeting him, these things did not matter to me. A scuff mark? Showed character. The off center frame? Showed my quirky side. And what plants? I wouldn't even attempt to keep a cactus alive in my past apartments. Meanwhile, my husband can spot these, let’s call them “uglies”, a mile away. Then, like a true beautician, he sets out on an intensely focused beauty treatment mission...every single time.
At our wedding, I declared in my vows that there were a bazillion reasons we were together and why we work as a couple. I learn something almost everyday from my man. A huge lesson I get from him is to a) pay attention enough to spot the uglies, b) take the time to make them pretty and c) enjoy the beauty that is around me. As superficial as it may seem, these are lessons I need reminding of and to practice on a regular basis. You see, I go big picture. I like to jump in and do things, cross things off my lists, attack my goals, carpe diem and all that go-go-go energy - so much so that I often forget to enjoy the beauty of each moment. One of the bazillion gifts I get from my husband (and my not even two year old twins) is to make me savor the simplest of moments. To look at the thriving plant in our living room and admire it’s beauty - the shape of its leaves, the twisting of its branches, the way the sunlight frames it in our window - is a gift. I now have moments when I notice and appreciate these everyday types of beauty. And it is inspiring.
It’s infectious too. It goes beyond our home. The other day I was at one of our Crunch gyms and I was hustling off to my next instructor meeting and there it was - about 25 pilates mats absurdly stacked in misshapen ways. First off, normally I don’t notice because I’m on a mission to get to my next task. Secondly, I often think it’s not a big deal. Or I'll think "Oh! Someone else will do it! It will fix itself." But my hubby’s Beautician Voice popped in my head - “Yuck! That’s ugly!” And I had to fix them. When I was done, I took a moment to admire the symmetry of the mats. And it felt good to see them perfectly stacked up and ready to present themselves to the next person who wanted to enjoy a mat.
Taking the extra step has carried over to my acting too. Last month, I was filming a scene from “Superstore” when I noticed a clock that I could artfully add to the backdrop. It would take time, make me have to reset the camera, force me to fix the lighting, yadda-yadda . . . But I did it. Instinctively I knew it would subtly add a sense of realism to the "employee break room" that the scene was set in. So I stopped the in my head debate and made it happen. And as tiny as that was, my acting group and Coach totally noticed that detail because it provided a moment of truth, and in acting, well - truth is total beauty.
Life gets busy. Our day-to-day's can get messy. But what I've learned from my husband is that there is beauty all around us - we just have to take a moment to notice. And if what we notice is something not cute, not pretty, or straight up ugly - we have the power to make things beautiful. Fight the uglies... Be the Beautician... And enjoy what's around you. LiveLifeLarge - Marc
