When I am in a creativity lull, I find that going straight to prompts is my only way out. I started back in with the #my_365 prompts on Instagram yesterday because my paltry collection of fall pictures was making me sad. And today, I thought I would go back to my 31 More Things Prompts to get my writing muscles moving again.

When I opened up the page, the prompt that jumped out at me was ‘makeup’. After Halloween weekend, there was material to be had.

On Saturday afternoon, a gaggle of tween girls fought for mirror space in our upstairs bathroom. They were transforming their fresh faces and needed makeup to do it. Some came equipped. The collection pictured above is still here. It’s not ours but it was perfect for this picture. You can see the new with the old. The samples next to the Rite Aid purchases. Some insisted on covering their perfect skin with foundation as I ran back and forth from the girl’s bathroom to mine collecting q-tips and cotton balls. Some expertly applied eye liner and mascara. The dancers and actresses, used to putting on the face of an adult before taking the stage. Some needed help and a more steady hand to create the change.

My mind flash backed as it often does now. I don’t think I wore make up in middle school and frankly have few memories of it until college. Even then, my memory is of my college room mate being terribly confused by my bare face. I struggle still to use make up. My eyes are sensitive and my hand shaky. Like so many other things, I want to tell these girls not to rush. I want to tell them how many years they will have of trying to change their faces. Of trying to cover blemishes that aren’t really there.

For this weekend though, it was all in fun. They came away looking grown up and beautiful. And then they took to the streets, pillow cases at the ready. They laughed and ran and collected candy for hours. Children still, playing the role of the grown up while doing childish things.