Fiber Babble: A Short Story

A Short Story

January 25, 2013

Abandoned book "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" by Alexander McCall Smith ♦◊◊◊◊

So, while I was in Blogger looking for an old post, I came across this draft. It's a couple of years old, so things have changed, but I like it and decided I'll share it anyway.

I sleep on my back. In fact, I might have already mentioned it, but I sleep like Lily Munster. So, given that info, how the heck does my hair look like this when I wake up??

And holy cow, do I need to visit my friend Miss Clairol or what?? (That's on my list of things to do this afternoon)

When we first met (okay, when I started blogging), this was how long my hair was.

You might recall when I mentioned that I know product and compared my natural curl to Medusa without the antisocial behaviour.

Then last year Mr. W. cut my hair for me. He nearly had a coronary, but I assured him that A) it would grow back and B) it's so curly that it didn't have to be perfectly straight across the bottom (as if that was even possible!). So, he cut an 11" pony-tail off of me so that my wet hair was about down to my collarbone.

Now, I love my hair. I loved being able to wash and go and end up with curls that many women would love to have. I loved being able to straighten it and have it hit at almost waist level. So when I willingly got it cut so drastically I naturally KEPT the pony-tail. I know it's kinda weird. And probably grosses some people out. But if you want to see it, you can click here. There's a 5½" red ribbon next to it that's tied onto a straightened & folded over lock of hair for length comparison. That's the only way I could tell that 11" had been cut off since the rest of it was all curled up. But I'm a bit of a nerd and like to see how much the curl sucks up the length.

I loved the "New Hair" - and everyone else seemed to, also. Less product, less shampoo & conditioner, less time spent before I was out the door. It felt bouncy and springy and I could straighten it more often if I wanted to. When I straightened it, I felt like "That Girl" (I even bought a wide white vinyl headband!) - though when I went surfing for Marlo Thomas' picture I now see that her hair was longer than my cut.

And then there is now. A couple of months ago, I asked Mr. W. to give my hair a trim (hair trims had to happen much more frequently than when it was long, that's for sure!). I said, "Cut off about an inch." He apparently used The One That Got Away measuring method ('And it was thiiiiiiiiis big!') because next thing I know, I can feel a breeze on the back of my neck!

At first the breeze was Mr. W. hyperventilating when he realized just how short he was cutting my hair. Then of course, it started curling like nobody's business and he REALLY started to panic. But he kept saying, "I like it. It looks really good on you. No, really, I like it a lot!" Uh, kinda like a mantra, now that I think of it.

But I'll tell you what. My New New Hair is just stinkin' cute. Customers and co-workers went bananas over the new look. I can wash & go in fewer than 5 minutes and by the time I reach my destination, I have this bouncy, curly 'do that makes me feel happy and self-confident.

The downside? It has to be cut every other week. But, hey - it's not like I have to make an appointment and drive into town. The other thing is that if I DON'T wash it in the morning and just be a lazy, hang around the house slug, I can't pull it back into a pony-tail and call it good. This length requires massive amounts of curl (check!). If the curl is brushed out (like when I first wake up) I'm more in the Phyllis Diller mode.

Just sayin'.

Okay, it's present day now. The short short cut was ultimately too much for me. I couldn't keep up with the maintenance after all, and dernit - I missed my ponytail!

My hair is back to "long", though 3 or 4 curled inches shorter than the original picture.

And Miss Clairol and I are taking some time away from one another. She, too, requires a bit more of my time than I'm willing to give right now. And the truth? I'm seeing someone else on the side.