Here come the grays
For the past 5 or 6 years I had considered myself lucky. I didn't have any grey hair and most of my friend and even my younger sister all had them. My sister actually started getting them when she was in her early 30's and my best friend she started getting them in her late 30's. I never really noticed when my mom started getting hers. I am thinking around her late 40's or early 50's. I do remember brushing my mom's hair one day and noticing that she had more grey then I had noticed.
But nevertheless I was holding my breath waiting for mine to come in. I was hoping that they didn't start soon especially since I had a young child. I didn't want to look like his grandmother or great grandmother before he was out of his infancy. I wasn't trying to look young either just not old, old. So, when I turned 49 last year I saw one, my first grey hair. People said that it is not good to pull it out but I am kind of hardheaded and don't always do what people say, especially people I don't know. So, I yanked that sucker out and hoped that no more would appear anytime soon. But, I knew deep down inside this was the beginning of the end of my no grey hair days.
About ten years ago I used to get my hair done at this little shop near my old neighborhood. I used to like this place because it was right across the street from my favorite hamburger joint and after I got my hair done I would just cross the street and grab something to eat because doing hair is a long slow process and I was always hungry afterwards. This was a one woman shop and most of the time I was the only one there for an appointment and rarely had to wait more then a few minutes while she got stuff set up. Her name was Linda. She was tall, thin and wore glasses that reminded me of cat eyes. Most of the time she wore black from head to toe. She had long grey hair that was more of a white then grey to me. She always wore it in a ponytail or a braid that went down to her shoulders and she would always tell me stories as I sat in the chair getting my hair done.
One day she told me that she started going grey at 30. She wasn't happy at first and when she had her son, her last child at 41 she was almost completely grey. She told me that she wasn't going to dye it that she had made the decision when she first saw her very first grey hair that she would let it all go grey without coloring it. She said it was a natural process, aging and she wasn't afraid of getting old or looking older. She said that people always think she is older then what she really was and that was ok with her. The best compliment she got was from her son. He told her he loved her white hair. When she heard him say that she knew she made the right decision not to color it.
Back then I had no worries about grey hair. I was in my late 20's then. So, I just listened to her and never really thought too much more about that conversation until now. I was brushing my hair yesterday and I noticed a few strands of grey that I never noticed before or I was in denial before. But, after I yanked out the first 5 on one side of my hair I noticed another 4 on the other side and I was saying to myself aloud in the mirror, yes, sometimes I talk to myself, I was saying where did they all come from and how did they multiply so quickly? And what am I going to do about them cause yanking them out was hurting my head and my hand trying to grab and yank. I knew that yanking them out was not going to stop them from multiplying and so now I must decided...to color or not. I won't be making any decisions today but next week might be different. I might be making an extra purchase at the drug store in the hair coloring aisle or maybe not.
But nevertheless I was holding my breath waiting for mine to come in. I was hoping that they didn't start soon especially since I had a young child. I didn't want to look like his grandmother or great grandmother before he was out of his infancy. I wasn't trying to look young either just not old, old. So, when I turned 49 last year I saw one, my first grey hair. People said that it is not good to pull it out but I am kind of hardheaded and don't always do what people say, especially people I don't know. So, I yanked that sucker out and hoped that no more would appear anytime soon. But, I knew deep down inside this was the beginning of the end of my no grey hair days.
About ten years ago I used to get my hair done at this little shop near my old neighborhood. I used to like this place because it was right across the street from my favorite hamburger joint and after I got my hair done I would just cross the street and grab something to eat because doing hair is a long slow process and I was always hungry afterwards. This was a one woman shop and most of the time I was the only one there for an appointment and rarely had to wait more then a few minutes while she got stuff set up. Her name was Linda. She was tall, thin and wore glasses that reminded me of cat eyes. Most of the time she wore black from head to toe. She had long grey hair that was more of a white then grey to me. She always wore it in a ponytail or a braid that went down to her shoulders and she would always tell me stories as I sat in the chair getting my hair done.
One day she told me that she started going grey at 30. She wasn't happy at first and when she had her son, her last child at 41 she was almost completely grey. She told me that she wasn't going to dye it that she had made the decision when she first saw her very first grey hair that she would let it all go grey without coloring it. She said it was a natural process, aging and she wasn't afraid of getting old or looking older. She said that people always think she is older then what she really was and that was ok with her. The best compliment she got was from her son. He told her he loved her white hair. When she heard him say that she knew she made the right decision not to color it.
Back then I had no worries about grey hair. I was in my late 20's then. So, I just listened to her and never really thought too much more about that conversation until now. I was brushing my hair yesterday and I noticed a few strands of grey that I never noticed before or I was in denial before. But, after I yanked out the first 5 on one side of my hair I noticed another 4 on the other side and I was saying to myself aloud in the mirror, yes, sometimes I talk to myself, I was saying where did they all come from and how did they multiply so quickly? And what am I going to do about them cause yanking them out was hurting my head and my hand trying to grab and yank. I knew that yanking them out was not going to stop them from multiplying and so now I must decided...to color or not. I won't be making any decisions today but next week might be different. I might be making an extra purchase at the drug store in the hair coloring aisle or maybe not.
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