Happy Sunday everyone! As the responsibilities of the looming work week approach, I hope that you dedicated a few minutes or hours to relaxation and personal time. After a stressful month, losing friends, and figuring out my place at work, I needed to relax this weekend! I’ll get more into my struggles later. About three months ago, I noticed that my mom’s speech was slurred. Her face was hanging. One side of her face was no longer functioning. The eye on that side was limp. I didn’t know what was going on but she never made a big deal. She finally said that she thought that she might have had a stroke so she went to the hospital. Fortunately, what we initially believed to be a stroke turned out to be Bell Palsy. Still, I am not quite sure what caused the episode. Her recovery is ongoing. She’s going to physical therapy to strengthen the nerves in her face. My mom takes a lot of pride in her church fashion. She likes to look her best for God. Originally, I wanted to do a segment every Sunday dedicated to church fashion and use her as the focus of the segment. Because of the Bell Palsy, she didn’t want to smile for the photos. Today she came home from church, knocked on my door and asked me to take a photo of her new hair cut. To get the picture, I had to take close up shots of her face. She was feeling herself so much today that she didn’t feel insecure. I love the haircut. It’s fresh! Shoutout to the barbers and stylist attending school! She went to out local barber/ styling college to get her hair cut on Friday. 

We live in a society that places our worthy on our appearance. While I struggle daily with my esteem, self worth and beauty, I can’t imagine trying to maintain confidence while dealing with Bell’s Palsy. Sometimes, trying a new fragrance, a new lipstick, or evening a daring haircut can boost your mood.