What’s A Girl To Do???

Last Wednesday, I received a text that threw me for a loop! No, it shocked me, it made me gasp, and I was crushed.

MY HAIRDRESSER SINCE I MOVED BACK HOME IS FINISHED WITH HAIR! He is going back to his earlier work as a recruiter for a health care company! NOOOOOOO! Say it ain’t so…but he couldn’t. He is moving on for his sake…as he gets older, he needs benefits and a regular paycheck, which doesn’t always come with your own business. I get it but I’m a little anxious.

When I say “I get it” I mean that after Covid, I can certainly understand the need for a more stable career. Salons and spas were out of luck for two years. It wasn’t pretty. However, the relationship with a girl and her hair dresser/stylist/confidant is so important.

Upon moving to Cincinnati 33 years ago, I was so devoted to my stylist in Louisville, I drove back every other month to get my hair cut by the one who had been doing my hair for years. Then, I finally found someone to try, and fell in love with her. I trusted her to take the haircoloring duties away from Greg (my husband at the time!) although it had become one of our Friday night activities. It took a few months, but she got the color and cut perfect every time.

This perfect person then went on to her own place and I followed her there. We became friends and I saw her deal with life’s ups and downs and she did the same with me. After a few years, she moved to a loft where she managed just herself and it was even closer to my house. The relationship continued!

For Katie’s wedding, she brought a fellow stylist to our house and took care of the girls and me, as the Loft was not conducive to a big wedding party eating & drinking while being beautified! It was perfect!

This amazing woman is a cancer survivor and remains a friend. After moving to Louisville over two years ago, I drove to Cincinnati twice to get my hair done. She had helped me transition to partially gray, but we both decided that it was time to break free.

I tried a swanky salon twice and loved the experience but the cost was crazy. I needed a new hairdresser. Finally, I found him.

He became my friend as well. He gave me the confidence to embrace the gray and to style it less conservatively than I had been doing. He made me feel like the most beautiful woman every five weeks or so…a cut, clear glaze, and a styling. For 90 minutes, every five weeks, someone put me on a pedestal and I loved it!

Now, I am in a funk. I have no idea what comes next for me and my hair. I was supposed to get a cut on October 16, November 18 and December 21…yes, we were scheduled out so I wouldn’t miss my haircut during the holidays. Those days with him are not to be.

Almost instantly after reading his text, my hair started to misbehave, you know, like it does when it’s growing out of the cut. It flips up, it doesn’t lay like it should and it’s losing its luster and life. Was my mental state about this affecting my hair? Hmmmmm

Today, as I was lunching with a friend, she received a text message from her hairdresser, saying that her father had died and she would be unable to cut her hair tomorrow. My friend looked like she wanted to scream. After a few seconds, she said, “I hate to be insensitive, but I really need my haircut.” We both laughed because of course, she was sad for her stylist, but she was also ready to pull her hair out so to speak, because of how long it was feeling to her. She could not reschedule as the stylist didn’t know when she would be back.

Both of us sat, on a beautiful day, on a sunny patio wondering what was next…Funny, but the last time we did that, sit on a patio and wonder what comes next, she had lost we were talking about her recently deceased husband and I told her I was getting divorced. There were a lot more tears involved the last time, and thankfully, no tears today.

After thinking about it all, I’m starting tomorrow with the salon where I get my mani/pedi. I know there is probably someone there to help me with my hair, but will we connect? That’s got to happen! I’ll keep you posted!

 

PS. Sending love to all those affected by the hurricane. It’s devastating and I know Florida is going to be recovering for a long time to come.

Also, I've had a good week of Random Acts of Kindness. Most have taken place in traffic, letting cars out of parking lots onto the main road, texting a couple of people I haven't chatted with for awhile, and just super easy things, but it's working!!!