The seat of the stool was covered in long pink fur and sat prominently in front of the mirror. Arranged on the top of the gleaming white marble surface were several clear glass containers with lids—one for cotton balls, another for Q-tips, and another for bobby pins. Next to them was a mirrored tray with several small, colored cutglass perfume bottles and a silver brush and mirror set.
When I was about six years old, I thought Grandma’s vanity was magical.
Throughout the years, I’ve tried to recreate this magical spot, but it has never been quite right. Think of the kind of furniture you buy from IKEA—it’s nice but a little too small and not very sturdy. Small furniture from IKEA has always puzzled me. I think of Scandinavians as tall, robust people … so why is their furniture so small? It makes me laugh to picture a Viking sitting at my little vanity.
Now that the kids are gone, and we have a little more free time and disposable income, I’ve started thinking about remodeling and finally re-creating Grandma’s enchanted spot in my master bathroom. Also, I don’t want to forget to mention that the mirror of Grandma’s vanity was encircled with small, round lights that illuminated her face, making her look like a movie star. When I picture myself sitting at a polished marble table illuminated in movie star lights, it feels like heaven.
So, here’s the kicker. After years of standing at the bathroom mirror applying makeup and styling my hair, I’m ready to take the leap and the expense of building my dream. And then I read this headline:
SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING
I’ve always been a NO SMOKING advocate. When we were kids, we used to hide Mom’s cigarettes in an attempt to get her to quit. I’ve never smoked, not only because of the adverse health effects but also because it smells so bad. Cigarette smoke permeates the smoker’s clothes, creating a smell that announces them from ten feet away. I never wanted to be that person. Last week, we had to shut off our car’s AC while sitting at a red light because someone in the car three cars behind us was blowing smoke out their window. Hey, Dude! Watch your secondhand smoke!
So now, what? Is sitting, like smoking, really linked to heart disease, cancer, autoimmune diseases, and even arthritis? Did I tell you … I was recently diagnosed with arthritis … go me, Happy 55th! If sitting really is linked to the same health problems associated with smoking, how can I even consider building my dream vanity and start each day by SITTING?!
This has created quite a conundrum for me. Just like I don’t want to be that person who smells like cigarette smoke, I also don’t want to be that person caught wearing old lady makeup. You know, when you see an older woman with dark pink swipes of blush across her cheeks, bold blue eyeshadow, and lipstick a little too far outside the lip line? My theory is this: it isn’t that she doesn’t know how to apply makeup, but that she can’t see! It’s a problem I’m now experiencing while standing at my bathroom mirror, and a problem that could be easily solved with movie star lighting and a magnified mirror.
It may come down to selecting the lesser of two evils.
Succumbing to any one of the long lists of ailments associated with sitting … or succumbing to vanity.