And again with the Hair

As I've talked about again and again, I've got this thing with my hair. Well, here we go one more time.

This was me in 1999. . . .pretty cute at 21, right?

Bright eyes, big smile, average hair.

My hair was just that -- hair, not something I worried about much until I needed to get it touched up or trimmed. DH and I were dating -- I was a junior in college, he was in law school -- and he invited me to a formal. Being the broke college student that I was, I was in a pinch on getting my hair done. Somehow I had finagled a dress, but hadn't budgeted for a trip to the salon. At least, I couldn't afford to get the full on relaxer that I so desperately needed. And somehow, I had gone 20 years not knowing that I could have picked up a $5 box kit of Dark and Lovely at K-Mart off of Bypass Rd. So, I decided to just cut it.

As in cut it all off.

And from then on, my hair became an entity unto itself. Once it was cut, I just let it do it's own thing which I quickly found out was to just spiral around and around.

10 plus years is a long time with one hair-do. I mix it up now and then by pulling it back, blowing it out, wearing pig-tails and whatnot, but for the most part, it's out, large and in charge. I've become known for my hair, often joking that I could never rob a bank because. . .well duh, look at the hair! There are drawbacks of course -- strangers wanting to touch it- often times uninvited - combing out the tangles, blowing through conditioner like whoa! And even though I torture it by pressing it out, not moisturizing it enough, and who knows what else, (since my hair care skills are pretty non-existent) it's very resilient.

Aside from the year DH and I got married, it's been natural a full 10 years. Within the last few years, though I have been toying with the idea of cutting it off and starting over. My chronology may be off, but when Poshdebuted her bob, I was like, "That's it! I'm doing it! I'm cutting it off!" and DH was there to talk me down from the ledge with what has become his standard response: "Why don't you get some braids?" Ugh, how I loathe getting my hair braided. I love how it looks, but I can't sit that long anymore! If I have 8 hours to give up, is the braid shop really where I want to be? C'mon, now!

Usually after this convo, the moment I set foot out the house I, at least half a dozen people would compliment me on my hair. So I would relent and leave my hair alone.

Then Michelle Williams showed up with her pixie, I said, "That's it! I'm doing it!" and DH pulled me back in. Then Rhianna caused a style frenzy and I said, "I'm all over that!" And even Margene (a.k.aGinnifer Goodwin) got in on the act. It was a vicious cycle until about two days ago. I saw an old picture of Kiera Knightley and dragged DH into that familiar dance of "That's it! I'm doing it!"

And, then I did.