Oh My! We Have Certainly Been Through A Lot Of ‘Life’ Together!

I’ve been thinking about all the many life experiences we (me & my clients) have been through together. I was about twenty or so when many of us began our long relationship. Yep, we were so young! I was married to Brian( affectionately known as Dip-shit) 😅 well…. Maybe not exactly ‘affectionately! I was a young, inexperienced stylist. I was eager to succeed and you trusted me, and stuck with me as I gained experience and grew into a seasoned stylist ! Thanks for that! Your loyalty has been very, very appreciated! Many of you have followed me to three salons since we’ve known each other and others have been in my life since the beginning of my own salon in 1993! Yep 1993!!! Can you believe it’s been that many years! How does time slip by so fast?

You knew me before Mariah was ever even a thought . I can remember doing your hair when you were pregnant! Some of you multiple pregnancies ! All these years later as your trying to figure out how you’ll pay for college, your wondering what the hell you we’re thinking! Lol! I’m certain you remember getting your hair done by a very pregnant me as well. Whew! That’s when I began using a cutting chair so I could sit down while cutting hair. Do you remember how emotional you were during that time ?(your pregnancy, not mine) I had to talk you off the edge, “noooooo! Cutting your hair short right now is not a good idea!”. It’s never easy to tell a pregnant woman that she’s about to gain a lot of weight and short hair will not be a good thing! This is always a time for gentle , diplomatic words. I’ve learned the hard way to avoid ’emotional’ haircuts! I try hard to avoid any tears in my chair! You gotta admit, in the end you were grateful ! And the very best time for a brand new look is ‘After’ that baby is born. After you have a baby is when you really need to re-define yourself . Your life had just changed so dramatically and that was when we entered into the time of your life when ‘Low Maintenance ‘ hair was a must. We figured it out together. Now those kids are in college or just about to get ready to choose a college, others are getting awfully close to graduating High School. Its so exciting to watch so many of you becoming grandparents! It’s a time of unbelievable joy. It’s such a pleasure for me to see all the pictures and watch those adorable videos on your iPhone ! I can’t believe your a grandparent! Yet another period of time when You get to rediscover ‘who’ you are. Maybe your a ‘Redhead’ now? Or possibly a ‘Blonde’? Those ‘low maintenance ‘ years are behind us! Time to let loose and focus on you! Maybe you’ll grow out your gray hair! Or better yet, have extentions put in! Sky’s the limit! You go girl! Or Guy!😝

I can remember when your career was only just beginning! You were at the brink of a successful career. Now all these years later your the boss! Your the seasoned professional , mentoring others who look up to you ! I have also had the pleasure of watching many of you bravely dive into second careers . Going back to school, learning an entirely different trade. I have admired the courage it took to start all over again! I’m witnessing many retirements now. Retirements from careers that were incredibly rewarding . For many of you, you gave up careers to devote your life to being a mother and raising your children. That job never ends but now , as your children are becoming young adults your exploring new possibilities . It’s very emotional for you, such a huge life change. What will you do with all that time now? I bet you’ll discover new interests, dive into new hobbies and volunteer your time to contribute to a cause or organization that you believe in. Maybe you’ll get to travel ( possibly to Panama??? 😃 I look forward to hearing about what new and exciting path you choose to take next.

Way back when we first met many of you weren’t married, you hadn’t even met your husband yet, or others were just recovering from a divorce. ( For most of us , all these years later, that painful divorce ended up being a really good thing.) Others were planning their wedding and I have great memories of doing your hair for your wedding all those years ago. I also remember sharing many celebrations! Yes, I’ve been to my fare share of divorce parties as well as wedding showers, anniversary parties, and baby showers! Celebrations never end! My how time has flown by, what anniversary are you celebrating this year? Do you remember when I met Scott? February will be thirteen years! I was so nervous about trying that new ‘on- line’ dating! I’m glad I took your advice and gave it a try! I never thought I’d get married again! Never say never! I met the man of my dreams because I took your advise and took a chance.

We have stood by each other during painful life experiences. I comforted you when chemo made all your hair fall out. You trusted me when I suggested we shave it all off to avoid the anguish of finding clumps of hair on your pillow. We cried together as you bravely watched my clippers remove the hair from your head. Then we rejoiced together as we strategized the new pixie hairstyle as it grew back in! How inspiring you have been to me! Your courage, your determination to win over illness! These memories are sad yet deeply inspiring . I’ve felt so lucky to have been able to support you in my small way. You all gave me unending encouragement and support during what I call , ‘The Dark Years’ ! You all know what I mean by that. You have no idea how I doubted myself during my daughters troubled years. Every time one of you told me I was doing all the right things I felt a little stronger. Hearing you tell me that I was a good mom and that I was doing all the right things made me stand firm and gave me the strength to keep trudging forward. And when I was going through some of the most difficult days and your bangs ended up shorter than you wanted them or your haircolor ended up needing a little ‘tweaking ‘ , you forgave me! I have a very horrifying memory of mistakenly using my regular sheers instead of my texturizing sheers on a large clump of hair on the crown of someone’s hair. For those of you who don’t understand why this would be horrifying … imagine a very large section of hair right on the top of your head suddenly being about 1/2 inch long!! Yikes!! Yep, “Horrifying “! Luckily , you ( you know who you are😁), somehow found humor in this! We ended up laughing so hard we practically had tears coming down our cheeks!! I loved you for your forgiveness . Of course you received a large bouquet of flowers and free haircuts until the crown grew back in. Ahhhh, such valuable memories we share. And for those more nervous folks,( I know who you are😁), don’t you worry, I won’t do that to your hair! Really! 😳😁😨😰. You might just want to keep an eye on what sheers I have in my hand! Wahahaha ! Just kidding! GOSH!

It’s been an honor and a blessing to have built such a fantastic community of friends. While doing my job I have unexpectedly gained a family. As I read back that last sentence I think maybe that may sound a bit dramatic or even corny. But it comes from my heart. As I’m getting closer and closer to moving away I find myself feeling so very happy and blessed to have built such a valuable, loyal, generous community of friends. Most stylists would typically refer to you as a clientele but no, that’s just not right in my case. If we define our family as a group of people who genuinely , loyally, care about us and who we in turn care for the same, then in my mind I have lots and lots of sisters brothers moms and dads, and some aunts maybe even a grandmother or two . You are my community and just because I won’t be cutting or coloring your hair , you won’t be getting rid of me! We may not see each other on a regular basis but we will stay connected , it’s not such a big world! We have email and texting and FaceTime and Skype, just to name a few ways we can continue to interact. And now I can chat as much as I like without having to remember not to cut your bangs too short! And you won’t have to pay me before we say goodbye ( unless you feel especially connected to that part of our relationship ! Lol!). I can’t speak for you, obviously, but I for one, am eternally grateful to have my many memories of these years of standing behind you talking to each other in the mirror. Laughing, crying, sharing secrets, supporting each other, laughing some more, changing and growing ( and I don’t just mean your hair!) ,and becoming important to each other in so many different ways. This is , to me, what life is about…. PEOPLE! It’s a good thing I don’t have to pack all my memories to take with me on my journey because I’m sure they
would exceed the airlines weight limit!!! Life is good! Lets keep creating valuable memories! Cheers!

Advertisement