coloring the weeds

so this past summer i had an experience i hadn't had before. it wasn't bungee jumping or skydiving - nothing that spectacular. as summer progressed and got hotter, i wanted to put my hair up in a ponytail. i did. however, i noticed something peculiar, something strange was sticking out of the sides and on top of my head.

GREY HAIRS! UGGGG!! actually to be specific they weren't grey, they were white.

now i have had grey hairs here and there. for some reason, they have popped up from no where likes weeds in a lawn. seems like one day there's nothing there and then the next day they are everywhere. i don't understand. some of these grey hairs are LONG - like they been there a while. i guess they have been - just hiding. it just seems like this past year they have multiplied by 100. it's pretty noticeable in my hair since is BLACK (or very, very, very, very dark brown if you are one of my family members!).

it just got worse from the summer. now it's not only noticeable when my hair is in a ponytail or pulled back in any sort of way, now i see them just when i fix my hair, sticking out on the top of my head. time to do something.

in my 37 years of life, i have never colored or highlighted my hair. wait - there was an unfortunate incident with Sun-in in junior high, but i don't think that counts. i got very nervous when i thought about coloring my hair. i don't know why. i know a lot of girls do it - and some guys. my older sister did it and it looks great on her. i guess i just had visions of bright orange hair that wouldn't take color. i would be lying if i didn't also mention the cost of coloring/highlighting and maintenance also made me hesitant. i am one of those people who gets her hair cut once a year. i wear make-up on the one day a week that i work and to church only. anyone i have hung out with outside of these occasions more than likely has seen me without make-up.

well a couple of weeks ago i decided it was time to do something about the weeds in my lawn. i set aside some money from my paycheck and made the appointment.

"salon 120, can i help you?

"yes, i need to make an appointment to get my hair cut & colored."

"do you know what you'd like to do?"

"i have no idea. i was hoping the stylist would be able to suggest some ideas."

"okay come in tuesday at 10 a.m."

i went in today a little nervous. my stylist's name was julie. she was great. she asked me what i wanted. "i want all the grey gone. i was thinking about highlights but i have no idea what would look good!" she said, "i can make the grey gone and we can discuss what would look good on you." i knew when i would see the highlights it would be a little bit of a shock to my system since i've never done it before. i just did a simple short haircut, just below the shoulders with long layers. i don't even know what the color of the highlights are. the color of the hair is the same as my natural color. honestly it was just nice to have my hair washed, colored, cut and styled. it took about 2 1/2 hours and that was 2 1/2 hours i had of someone else taking care of me with no one calling me mommy in the background. that in and of itself was worth the money! :)

when i came home, my son said, "hmm i think i liked it black better, but it smells good. it reminds me of a grown-up girl!" (not sure what the last part meant). my daughter said, "it's brown! it's kind of weird." thanks honey. the officer said, "i like it a lot. i like the haircut too!" good man!

i think in a week i'm going to love my hair. they said i can't wash it for 48 hours - interesting. i guess it's so i don't loose any of the color. so if you see me and you think i look like a zebra - don't tell me. :)



the picture posted is of the back of my hair because i couldn't get a good picture of the front that showed the highlights.