Crisis

It is difficult for many people to realize that they have aged. There are constant reminders around us all that we are used to and no longer shock us. The unsettling experiences are the unexpected ones. Surprises can rattle you to the core of your being.

I was surprised like that just the other day. I made my way to the nearby Great Clips spot with my son to get our hair cut. Sharde, my normal hair stylist, had disappeared again. That is to be expected from a young person trying to find her way in the world. You have to make decisions about what is best for your needs. Calvin refused to have his hair cut because Sharde wasn't around. I think he has a crush on her. That is easy to understand, she is a cutie.

My hair couldn't wait. I jumped up in the chair determined to get my hair back under control.

This new lady was nice enough. I can't remember her name, but she got right down to business.
The stylist went about trimming my hair, and evened out my unruly mop. About mid-way through she stopped in front of me and said,"Would you like me to trim your eyebrows."

I was shocked and insulted that this woman who didn't even know me 5 minutes before is asking to trim my eyebrows, but I took a breath and said in my most calm voice, "Ok."

I know that my eyebrows were kind of hairy. I have given it some thought, but I didn't think it was something that other people notice. The biggest problem for me was figuring out what to do about them. So I thought that having a professional address the issue was probably a good idea.

She was obviously unaware of the internal trauma she had just caused me, because she followed up her intial question with this little zinger, "Now people will focus on what you are saying and not your eyebrows."

What? Is this why my kids don't listen to me? People are distracted by my eyebrows? What the ...

At this point I know I am turning red. I have no idea what to say, so I give one of those little confused smiles you use when someone says something to you that sounds like an exotic foriegn language that you don't understand.

Unbelievably, she is not finished!

"We can't have you walking around looking like Andy Rooney, now can we?" and then she laughs!

I was so upset I nearly leapt out of the chair and roundhouse kicked her right in the clippers! There was no way I could have prepared myself to suddenly be compared to a man who looks like he has ginormous, furry caterpillars dueling on his forehead.

My calming techniques have really come in handy lately. Deep, slow breathing while concentrating only on the air entering and then leaving your body is very centering. On this day, I think it kept me out of jail.

What other age indicators are there waiting for me to discover? Maybe I will find out that I am only 13 years away from being able to move to a senior village.