Making the Cut

I recently fulfilled a childhood dream and was quite impressed with myself for checking it off of the list.  It hasn't been looming over me or anything, but when I accomplished it I was taken right back to 2nd grade "Show-and-Tell" where I declared it as one of the things I wanted to be when I grew up.

Our teacher had given us a project.  We were instructed to create a presentation to share what our desire was when we got older.  I was only able to narrow it down to 2.  My parents got a big kick out of them and kept the evidence of the experience.  I remember looking at the photos and my report just a few years back.  I had decided I wanted to be one of the following:
1.  A "Cheerlitter"
2.  A "Hair Beautier"

God bless my parents for allowing me to do my homework all by myself and make my own poster for each of these occupations.  Were they encouraging my independence or looking forward to the many giggles they would have when seeing the pictures of my handiwork?  I graciously choose the former explanation but realize the latter probably played an equal part.

Anyway... I never held a formal title of "Cheerlitter" and if you know me personally you realize that my build does not lend itself to the role.  I pity the person who would be required to toss me high in the air and then worse... catch me when gravity threw me back with a vengeance.  I did, however, participate in many sports where every player was expected to cheer on their teammates, so, technically I was a cheerlitter of sorts.  So I crossed that one off long ago.

The goal of becoming a "Hair Beautier" held more promise for me.  I loved to brush, curl, braid and style my long hair when I was young.  I spent hours trying new ideas and took every opportunity to work on my friends' hair as well.  When I was in college and played field hockey I was known for producing the tightest french braids on the team and had many "clients" on game days.  At the beginning of hockey camp one year I put one teammate's hair in a french braid and she decided to see how long it would last.  Four days later we had participated in 9 practices and 2 swimming sessions and she still had a decent braid.

Up until the other day that was my "Hair Beautying" claim to fame.  That was... until I was asked to become the barber for the 84-year-old gentleman I work for.  It took me 10 minutes to run the clippers through his small amount of hair, trim his eyebrows and the area at his ears.  In those 10 minutes I learned that even the easiest of haircuts requires some know-how.  Eventually I took his hair off adequately but found I had applied it all to my dark-blue sweatshirt with ease.

But, my crowning achievement which would have made my 2nd grade heart so happy and caused my parents to well up with pride for their little "Hair Beautier," was when I cut his wife's hair the other day.  It was the first haircut she had since she was a little girl and it was an honor to be selected to "Beauty" her hair.

I cut nine inches off of the hair of this wonderful 81-year-old woman, leaving the length to fall at the middle of her shoulder blades so she can still put it in a ponytail and put it up if she wants to.  Those nine inches of hair carried a lot of emotion as it had taken her a long time to decide it was time to make her personal grooming easier.  To wash it had become quite a chore for her and brushing it, getting the snarls out, and putting it up in a bun was more work than she needs to do anymore.

I thought about all the history that hair had seen.  As I evened up the ends I thought about the changes in her life that had brought her to the point where she was willing to cut it off.  Out of necessity she shortened the hair that she and her husband both loved all these years.

I am still able to french braid her hair and will do so soon, I'm sure.  Perhaps it will be because she asks me to, or maybe I will suggest it so she can be assured that it can still be done.  No doubt, when I do braid it, her husband will be sitting there watching like he always does when I braid her hair.  I don't know if he catches me looking or not but I love to watch his expression as I weave the strands together.  He still thinks his wife is beautiful and loves her hair.

It was a sad day for both of them when I cut the length off her hair.  I know he still thinks she's beautiful... I can see it in his eyes in more instances than when I'm Beautying her hair.  But he always loved her long hair and she told me many times that he wasn't ready for her to cut it yet either... until he realized it was so difficult for her to work with.

Anyway, I am happy to have fulfilled my goal of becoming a "Hair Beautier."  I'm not opening up a shop or anything but I do have 2 loyal customers who rely on me to beauty their hair.  That's something a "Cheerlitter" could really cheer about.