Haircuts....

Today I had the absolute pleasure of getting a haircut.  I know what you're thinking.  Why is that pleasurable, you ask?  Well, I'll tell you.  First of all, I get my haircut at the most, twice a year.  Secondly, I haven't had any luck finding a good, steady hairstylist since moving up here.

The first one was kind of like a redneck from the south, which was funny, because it gave me the insight that rednecks are just about everywhere in the world, not just isolated in the south... :)

The second one was half my age and told me how much fun she had partying over in Canada every day that ended in Y and how she lived with her dad, and how horrible her life was...... sheesh, today's youth....

The third one I believe is the charm.  He's definitely a tad older (mid 30's maybe?)and much more mature than the last one and to beat all, if I want to close my eyes and pretend I am at a spa and I won't be going home for like, 12 days, then he totally obliges!  I think the fact that I have six kids freaks him out a bit, but I'm ok with that, because he's never once said, "Do you know how that happens?" Or, "Dang, why?" So I feel very comfortable with this new stylist and I've never had a gentleman cut my hair, so it's kind of nice!

Anyway, today was the day.  I have a friend who I have commissioned to be my micro-manager of my hair appointments, and she met me for lunch and we walked over to have "James" cut my hair.  I went totally drastic today.  Every now and then I do crazy things with my hair.  Now, when I say crazy, my husband will tell you, it's eased up a bit in the almost 18 years we've been married, but let me tell you, some of my crazies have been REAL doozies.

There was the time I tried a mall haircut at JC Penney.

Don't ever do that if you have naturally curly red hair.  Because, even though since giving birth my hair is straighter now, my hair was once, really, really curly.  Crazy curly, like the perm I got in like 1986 was still activated in 1998....  So, I went there on a whim, desperate once again to find a decent hair stylist.  Well, I left looking like a frizzy redheaded poodle and to beat all, I was parked ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MALL.... so yea, tears streaming down my face as I walked with serious humiliation across a very crowded mall, making my way to my car and swearing I would NEVER get my hair cut again.

Then there was the time I thought it would be fun to be a butch again.

I'll explain.

I spent a great deal of my childhood sporting a rather shorter than normal pixie cut.  I am talking, my name was Amy, but you could have seriously confused me with Adam.  There was nothing feminine about me and my hair, or my clothing for that matter, that would give you any indication I was a girl!   My sister and I even gave ourselves nicknames.  Connor and Franklin.

It was bad.

So once again, I had this brainless, memory loss idea that I should try a short style.

I remember coming home and hiding in my bedroom and crying hysterically until my awesome husband came home and tried to desperately console me.

He learned that day to never say these words, "Honey- the difference between a good/bad haircut is three days!"

Not when you get your hair cut so short that shave your neck, big guy.

It was another lesson in humility.

For many years after that, I found that by spending lots of money, I got better haircuts.  I hated it, (the money part) but the results were totally worth it, and when you added up my every 3 month haircut nightmares, it totaled my once a year expensive, I can leave with pride, ones!  A win win in my book.  (No, my husband still doesn't get that....)

So we moved up here and I went to my first place.  The lady, (remember my redneck reference) asked if I had ever colored my hair.  Well, even as a redhead who dreamed of being blonde her whole childhood to avoid the snarky, hateful comments of the other kids, I had never taken the plunge and done it.  She couldn't believe it.  She said, "Can I highlight with blonde?"  I said, sure.  What's the harm?

The harm was that highlights are chemicals and chemicals if not used properly, can distort the look of your hair....

It took a long time to get rid of that disaster because my hair was really, really, long.  Needless to say, I decided not to go back.

So I went to my second hair stylist.  She was about 12.  Seriously, she looked 12, she might have been 21...

I told her I had five children and made a mental note to never mention that again after she freaked out over it.  (then later admitted her family was huge and all her aunts and uncles had large families-etc etc.  I don't get people like that....)  Needless to say, my last cut with her was when I was pregnant (not showing) with #6 and never told her, and frankly, after hearing all about Canada and her miserable life, decided that perhaps this relationship was going no where.... We just did not connect....

I was getting desperate.  To the point I even paid 10 dollars at a super cuts once, just to get the dead ends off.  Of course, I had to tell the stylist, to wet it, snip the ends, and don't dry it.  NO layers, no blow dryers, nothing else.

People don't seem to understand the importance of having a good hair stylist.  It's really a commitment.  It could almost be compared to a marriage.  A BOND.   You have to search sometimes long and hard and sometimes, it takes YEARS..... To find that certain stylist who is not just good, but REALLY good and can cut MY hair AND style it nicely, is a challenge.

Well, I'm proud to report my stylist now is awesome.  All of those qualities I wrote and more.  And a pretty penny, that I'll pay once a year.  My micro-manager would like me to go every season.  I don't know about that, but the comforting thing is that I have found someone who can cut my hair.  I can leave the store with my head held high and actually go places publicly without running like I'm on fire to get home and shower and do what I can to "fix" my disaster....

I didn't think I would ever be able to replace my awesome girl back home, but somehow, I have managed to find someone.  AND I even posted a picture of my new do.

5 inches taken off and all- a pretty radical move on my part- not pixie- but as short as it's been in a long, long time!!!

Thank your hair stylist next time you're in.  They're a gem in a world of rookies...if you've got a good one, you've got a gem....

Sitting at a red light-my new hairdo... :)