All the Trimmings

So I was feeling kinda antsy about getting a new do; it was getting to be that time. I try to get a haircut every 6 months or so, but this time I wanted to try something a little different. Which is a big deal since me and drastic changes don't have a great history of meshing well. Mostly I just wanted to try bangs again. I haven't had them since I can't even remember when. Very young. Anyway, my sister had just cut hers and they looked cute so I thought I might take a chance. So one day after work I walked down the strip mall just a couple doors to the salon where I got my last haircut and waited for Ginger.

Ginger is a forty something single mom. Her short, bleach blonde hair hints at her attitude: spunky and determined. She was walking around in a leg brace and was candid about her circumstances when I asked her what had happened. She had been hit by a car around Christmas and had broken her femur and a couple other bones I can't recall. And even though it had been 7 months since my last time in to see her, she remembered some of the things I had told her about myself. This is the kind of relationship you develop with a hair dresser, I realized. It's nothing too overbearing, just a couple of people nonchalantly talking about their lives to pass the time. I have never had a hair dresser before but now I understand why people would invite them to weddings and put them on their mailing list for annual Christmas cards. She is pleasant and laid back; the kind of person you'd trust with something as important as your hair even if they were having a bad day.

I didn't want them as short as she made them. As she put the scissors to my locks and took the first snip my heart jumped with fear. Did she really just take off that much?!! I took a few deep breaths though, and decided I could live with it...until I could grow them out again. But as she finished up and started drying and styling my hair, the bangs were growing on me more and more. I smiled at my reflection in the full length mirror thinking that the biggest test would be if my boyfriend like them too. He absolutely loves them, so I think they might stick around for a while.