Hair Today. Gone Tomorrow.

With my hang gliding instructor and short hair!

In my 20s, I had long, straight dark hair, parted in the middle. Living in South Florida, I also had a deep tan. My brother’s friends thought I was a Native American. “I’m a Shawnee”, I told them.

But with age, job demands, and little time to mess with my hair, I got it cut, permed, highlighted, and used hair rollers. Girl friends, you know the drill. Short hair was my go-to solution. And so, it was for more than 35 years. I kept my hair short. 

Dealing with Hair as We Age

But with age, my hair texture changed to frizz. The solution: grow it long and hope the weight of my hair would smooth it out.

Now with chin-length, straight hair, I went to my annual National Speakers Association conference this July.  These are colleagues who have known me for decades.

Comments ranged from “Oh, you’ve grown your hair!” to “It’s different.”  A few people said they liked it, but my good friends said it was too much hair for my small face.

I came home and got it cut three days ago.  I must admit it:  it did look better.

As with so much of life, I stepped back and took in the lessons.

Learning the Lessons After the Hair Cut

Lesson #1

Accept what is.  It’s one thing to try alternatives in life, but at a certain point, I realized the wisdom of working with reality. 

Lesson #2

What a gift to have good, honest friends. We all need those few friends who have our best interests at heart, who tell us the truth even if we don’t want to hear it.

Lesson #3

By extension, dangerous “leaders” are those who are surrounded by sycophants, self-serving folks who “kiss the ring” so they can stay in a position of power. It’s what we have now in our United States government.

I hope you, my readers, take these lessons to heart. Not just for physical appearances, but for what it means today in our country. Become quiet, and the democracy that is here today will be gone tomorrow.