I was 28 when I got married and it was brilliant, everybody had a great day and I married a great guy (except when he's busy grumping  [Emoji] ). My dress was gorgeous, I felt like a million dollars. To keep myself feeling like a million dollars and in the "I just got married" mood, I'd bought some new, "white themed" bits and pieces for the few days after the wedding and for our honeymoon, ya know , so people knew I was still "The Bride".
 
Three weeks later though, it was all over.....I looked at my wedding dress and cried, I'd never wear it again (I'm still thinking of situations where I could...none of the "wreck the dress" ones appeal to me though). My nice white/cream coloured post-wedding outfits didn't seem to fit in with my normal everyday wear. Then I kinda panicked. OMG! I'm married now...what do I wear? Do I need to dress sensible? Can I still wear fun stuff on my head? OMG what about my glittery gold shorts??? They haven't had a proper life yet!! I know, I know, crazy thoughts indeed. Crazy as they were, for about 3 months after, I did make sure I got up extra early to straighten the nest that is my hair, I even threw on some mascara going to work. I tried to stay out of trackie bottoms and jeans...I think I just wanted to be P's glamourous wife. Slowly though I reverted back to my "throwing my hair up in a ponytail" ways and my jeans and men's t-shirts came back, because they ARE me and after all that's how P knows me. I don't dress up everyday (I don't have enough bloody fancy clothes to keep up with it for a start), I don't wear make up everyday ( my wedding day was probably the first time I wore a full face of make up and at 30 I finally learned how to put on foundation reasonably well...well I think it's ok!) and I do roll my sleeves up and get stuck in and the fact is jeans and t-shirts were made for that. Oh don't get me wrong I love to dress up and I like to think I put in a big effort when I am going out, my sparkly gold shorts and pink glittery "doc" boots are testament to that. So I realised married people don't have a uniform, I am still me just a new title and I have to give one more person in my life a little extra special consideration than others.
 
Fast forward 2yrs and a baby boy later, there I was again.....OMG I've just had a baby, I'm married....Jeeeezus Christ I'm a Mother...a MARRIED MOTHER! I'm old now....aaaaagh!!!! Would you believe I actually packed away my glittery shorts?! I don't know why these strange, ridiculous thoughts came into my head but I honestly thought right, now Don...time to shape up....you have a baby now like...you can't be going out....OUT TO NIGHTCLUBS you know in glittery gold shorts ( I do wear them with black tights though so not in a "Cheeky Girl" kinda way). What do Mammy's wear? Do Mammy's go to nightclubs? Do married Mammy's go to nightclubs? Is my life as 'Just Donna' over? I looked in my box of fun head decorations and thought do these have to go? Do I trade them in for more grown up models? Oh Gawdddd!!!! I mean I don't dress like Julia Roberts pre her Pretty Woman shopping spree when I'm going out but I am a woman and I do like to look good, not to attract men but for me...yes just for me....ok and maybe for other women (not in a I want to attract women kind of way but I have read somewhere once or twice before that most women dress for other women. We want other women to look at us and be jealous of our fab outfits or hair or whatever.) So again for a little while I dressed a bit more...hmm...I'll say conservatively but I'm using it loosely as it makes me sound like I dress like a lady of the night. I wore trousers or jeans more when I was going out...I felt like for me, I got a bit boring tbh. I even had a couple of my friends  mention it...one even used the word "Mammy" to describe what I was wearing. Well by God lads, that was it! I mean I love being a Mammy, it's fun, it's hard, it's nice, it's tiring but I love my boy but "Just Donna" will always live in me too. I realised then that Mammy's don't have a uniform either, we have new accessories to our outfits is all. We may not like them and unfortunately they are not really a choice but would you really go back to the days of no sticky finger marks and no dried in baby sick on your shoulders???
 
So I got my gold sparkly shorts back out and I put them on and I pranced around my kitchen in them with my little man to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and Fun's "We Are Young". I sang and danced and swung him round and he laughed and smiled and didn't care what I wore, 'cos after all who's it hurting? I know one day he may care, but I think if I stay true to me (I don't dress like a glitter bug everyday, it's just when I'm off out and especially if there's dancing involved the magpie/butterfly in me may peep out) then he won't even bat an eyelid at his sparkly old Mammy.
 

Written by Donna Eldridge, mummy blogger and occasional writer at www.familyfriendlyhq.ie
Check out Donna's witty blog at www.totallydonnamarie.wordpress.com
Donna tells us she's from the greatest footballing village of all time, Rhode in Co. Offaly. She moved to south London on holiday after her Leaving cert, 15yrs ago. She's married with a little boy. She's worked in various pubs, ran one and currently work for a bedroom furniture retail company.