Big  boobs. Bleached teeth. Botox. The alliteration of self-improvement. Or should I say self-mutilation? Everywhere you turn, women’s magazines, men’s magazines, Teen Vogue,  talk shows and website ads  are chock full of promises on how to lose weight by drinking Brazilian berry juice, reduce stress, flatten your tummy, manage your time better, eat better, have better sex, improve your memory, make your kids smarter, make yourself smarter, have more intimacy, save more, spend less… and just about anything to make you feel inadequate, unfulfilled and ill informed. The feeling one experiences with this barrage and onslaught of media torture is the emotional equivalent of trying on a bathing suit in a three-way mirror in fluorescent lighting. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse… along comes Latisse.

Spokes model Brooke Shields (of bushy eyebrow fame) is hawking this crap, which is basically a CHEMICAL YOU PUT ON YOUR EYE LIDS to make your eyelashes grow fuller and thicker. As if we needed one more thing to worry about. Thin eyelashes. I read a  testimonial  from a devoted customer who said, “I don’t care if my eyes bleed, I am not going to stop using this product. I finally have full, thick eye lashes. Something I have always dreamed about.” Please. Stop.

Now here’s the thing. I actually took the time to look at before and after pictures of Brooke Shields’ eyelashes and they don’t really look that much different. I seriously get the desire for the bigger  boobs thing, but thicker eyelashes?? Really? Is that really that important? (Can I just interject here that if you wait for menopause, your boobs get bigger naturally. So does everything else, but one thing at at time.)

But getting back to my point, which is… Whatever happened to being good enough? Making the most of what you got? What are we doing to ourselves and worse, what are we doing to our kids? Have we, as a society, become obsessed with body image? Do we really care that much about Kim Kardashian’s ass or Jennifer Garner’s baby weight?

As a mother of three gorgeous girls, I am happy to say we have, for the most part, dodged that freight train of self doubt and negative self-esteem. My girls know how to work their assets, and by that I mean their sunny dispositions,  warm charm, sharp wit, stellar intellect and steadfast perseverance.  I taught them very early how to speak up, make eye contact and work a room. Most people’s first impression of  them has to do with what they have to say. “They are such great conversationalists. I really enjoyed talking to them. They are so personable.” These are the comments I hear. Not, “Wow! What thick eyelashes!” And truthfully, in the long run, what matters more?