Lightening my load. Or What on earth have I done?

Do you ever feel all crazy inside?  No?  Just me?  Okay then.  Sometimes I just feel….like I need to do something.  I get in a frump and then feel I have to do something nuts to get myself out of it.  It usually works.  Now, don’t get me wrong here, I’m not getting things pierced or tattooed (I’m too much of a chicken for that-I wanted drugs the moment I found out I was pregnant, you know, just in case).  I prefer to go with something less permanent and painful. 

Today I had an appointment to get my eyebrows threaded.  Ever heard of that?  It originated in India and has been used in Europe and the Middle East for decades (probably longer).  My stylist is from Iran and said she learned to do it when she was about 12 (she now in her mid-50’s so she’s got some experience).  I was very apprehensive.   Waxing scares the beejeebers out of me and I really had no idea what I was in for.  She took a spool of cotton thread and first tied it around her neck (for tension) then had about 3 feet hanging off.  She folded it in half, twisted it up and ran it over my eyebrows.  I can’t say it didn’t hurt, because it did, but not nearly as much as I expected.  It took her less than 10 minutes to do both eyebrows and they look fantastic!  They’ve never looked that good with waxing and the best part was there was no redness or swelling!  Huzzah!  But this is not the craziness.

I sat in the chair and here’s our conversation:

Me: You know what?  I’m thinking about chopping off my hair.

Super Awesome Stylist (in her very odd accent that is a mixture of Iranian and German):  NO!  You have bea-utiful hair!  You can’t!

Me:  No, I’m really thinking about it.

SAS:  If I had hair like yours I’d never cut it.  Never, never, never.

Me:  You say that, but if you had to seal with it every day, you’d think differently.

SAS:  No, I would have a wonderful new style every day!

Me:  For about a week, and then you’d get tired of it and pull it into a ponytail and feel like a schlump.

SAS:  You might be right, but you cannot cut your hair!

Me:  Yeah, I can.  Or rather you can.  Do you have time?

SAS:  Right now?

Me:  Yeah, before I lose my nerve.

SAS:  Yes, but are you sure?

Me:  Yes, let’s do it.

SAS:  Sure?

Me:  Yes.

Then we flipped through some style books and decided what would look best on me.  She washed my hair, pulled it up in clips (you know, making me look super fancy), and got out the scissors.  She combed a section in the back and prepared to cut.

SAS:  Are you really sure?  I don’t want to cut and then have you change your mind.

Me:  It will grow back.

SAS:  Okay.  Here goes.

I almost fainted when I felt the cut and let out a squeal when I saw the 8 inch hunk of my hair lying on the ground.  OMG!  What did I just do?  I swear I got dizzy and things spun for a moment.  She kept clipping away and more of my hair fluttered to the floor. I looked at it lying there, sad, lifeless and waiting to be swept away.  My poor hair!  It was too late to turn back and she kept at it.  When she was done she looked down and said she’d never cut so much hair off of one person.  It looked like there was about 2 pounds of hair lying at her feet (I have got enough hair for about 3 people.  It’s insane).  I looked in the mirror and shook my much, much, much lighter head.  It took a few moments for me to realize that I had actually had it cut off.  She looked at me apprehensively, but I told her it was great, and it is.  I left feeling lighter both literally and figuratively.    The craziness I’ve been feeling for a few weeks seemed to evaporate.  Isn’t it amazing what a haircut can do?

I don’t have any photos yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll post them.  For now I can tell you that it’s bobbed shoulder length and heavily layered (because there’s so much of it).  It frames my face and really looks great.  My hair, in addition to being crazy thick, grows abnormally fast, so it’ll grow back, but for now, I like it.   And it didn’t involve needles.