A Few Highlights

Today the world seems just a little brighter.  Oh wait,excuse me, it’s not the world.  It’s just my hair.  But to me it feels like the world.  Yesterday I did something for me and it feels and looks so good.  I got my hair cut and colored.  No big deal really.  Millions of people do it.  But I’m one of those people who doesn’t do it often enough.

My last haircut was in October or November.  (So long ago I can’t even remember exactly which month.)  The last time I got highlights was either in May or July.  As you can see, I was long overdo for a visit to the salon.  I’ve never been good with keeping up with my hair appointments.  Usually by the time I enter the salon I look like one of those wretched before pictures you see in makeover stories.  Before I sat in my hairdresser’s chair yesterday I was in full on “frumpy mom before the makeover” condition.

I have no real excuse for letting myself go like that other than time and laziness.  My hairdresser is in South Jersey.  It takes almost an hour and a half to get there (one way).  So a trip for a haircut takes planning because it means I’ll be gone all day.  Sometimes I just don’t feel like taking a whole day of my time just to look pretty again.  So, I put it off and put it off and before you know it I look like frumpy mommy.

Oh I could and should find a salon closer to home.  But I have been going to the same hairdresser since I was nine years old.  She’s good.  I love her.  I’ve followed her to three or four different South Jersey salons.  I also hate change.  I’m afraid someone else will mess up my hair.  I’ll feel like a traitor if I go to someone else.  All excuses but really, when it comes to our hair we women are quite protective, and who wants to take the chance that the new person will make you look like the Bride of Frankenstein?

But I digress, let’s talk about yesterday.  I woke up early, kissed Big and Shorty goodbye, and headed out the door.  I stopped at Dunkin Donuts and treated myself to coffee and a bagel with cream cheese.  A real luxury as I am trying to eat healthier and bagels and cream cheese are not on the list of healthy foods.  I actually arrived to the appointment early (almost 25 minutes early and anyone who knows me knows that is a miracle in and of itself).  I sat in my hairdresser’s chair and let her work her magic while I told her all the crap that is bothering me lately.  Did I mention that my hairdresser is also my therapist?  Well, not really, but she should be.

Two and a half hours later I walked out looking and feeling lighter.  My hair looked great.  I had a little kick to my step.  I felt more like me.  Not like someone’s mommy or someone’s wife but like me.  The me who used to bother with her hair and makeup and who wore clothes that made her look stylish and put together.  I also felt good because I was able to focus on me for a change.

I made a call to Big.  Imagine my delight when I found out the boys had just arrived at the Please Touch Museum for a few hours of fun and I had even more time to myself than I had originally thought.  So I drove back to Pennsylvania and stopped to do a little window shopping.  I did not buy anything but just being able to leisurely browse the stores without a toddler in tow was like a little piece of heaven.

I arrived home about five minutes before Big and Shorty returned home from their own day of fun.  I felt refreshed and more ready to be a mommy than I have in a long time.  My heart soared at Shorty’s excitement to see me.  So, not only did my hair get highlights but a light also went on inside my head as well.  I now know that I really need to stop putting off time for myself.  Not only do I feel better after a day to myself but my family is better off too.  And besides being blond really is more fun.