Well, I think you’re missing the point. The point of the post is not about how someone looks, it’s about whether or not I make a choice that does not end in mediocrity — and whether or not anyone else made such a choice.

Now, here’s my opinion regarding looks. If a person does not look very good, it doesn’t mean they want to look that way. I’m not saying that everyone should have time to primp, and I’m not necessarily saying it’s about details — I also mean being in shape, looking fresh, etc. Sure, it’s hard to get sleep with kids. And some happily make that sacrifice, and it shows. But very often, appearance coincides with happiness, and I am correlating the two. Everybody wants to look somewhat presentable, it’s a hallmark of our culture — but there is certainly a difference between looking like there wasn’t much time for makeup or doing hair and looking like one has been completely defeated and has given up.

I do also think that in America, we almost expect people to get fat and age once kids some along. That’s silly. Americans don’t take care of themselves the way many people do in a lot of the world. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed that Americans are so busy-busy, hurry-hurry, let’s-get-going type of people that health is abandoned almost entirely. I don’t like that lifestyle very much; after living in Sweden, I realized just how ridiculously hurried our lives are in the US. That kind of lifestyle doesn’t allow time for taking care of oneself.

It is very important to take care of oneself. A woman cannot — and should not — take care of others unless she can take care of herself.