Christmas Present to Myself

I only went and done it!

It was late Christmas Eve in Guildford at around 1630 and all the shops were closing down for the festive period 

I'd been overly warm in my Christmas Jumper all day and I was hot and sweaty, the back of my neck was really uncomfortable because my hair was so damp with sweat 

I turned to my partner and said "If only I could find a hairdresser where I could just walk into, I'd get my hair cut off right now, it's been driving me bonkers today"

As we rounded the corner fate stepped in, my partner spotted that there was a barbers shop still open and what looked like a member of staff outside

We asked what time they closed and surprisingly for Christmas Eve they were still open until 1800, I asked if they'd be able to cut my hair off short now, the guy said he'd have to ask and we said that's ok we have something to do and let us know when we come back this way again in 10 minutes

10 minutes later I was sitting in the waiting area for one of the barbers to finish a customer and then it was my turn

There was much discussion about what I wanted doing, I said I wanted a short back and sides but without the close shave with clippers that men have at the back

My hair is so thick which I think came as a bit of a shock whilst the guy worked out where to start, he asked if he could take some photos which I agreed too

Eventually it was decided to hold it in a pony  tail whist he clipped the bulk of the length and weight off so that he'd have shorter hair to work with

Photo Descriptions:- 1) A before selfie of me wearing a Christmas Jumper standing in the street with my long hair draped forward over my shoulders and looking slightly grumpy and really old. 2) An after selfie an hour or so later of me standing in the same street wearing the same Christmas Jumper and absolutely loving my new short hairstyle

I'm so happy that fate stepped in that day, I look and feel so much happier and dare I say it I look a lot younger too, my only regret now it that I didn't get it cut short sooner

Over the years my hair has been both long and short more times than I can remember. When I last had it all cut off it was because I was struggling to look after it myself with the Arthritis in my shoulders and hands

 I never intended my hair to grow long again, but then COVID and Lockdown happend, so I couldn't get it cut and before I knew it it was past the growing out stage and I just left it

When I started to struggle with caring for it myself I just booked regular appointments to get it washed at the hairdresser's

A few months ago I decided to get it cut short again after asking on here, but my usual hairdresser was reluctant to do it, saying that I'd probably regret it like every other time she's cut it short for me

But back then I was able to care for my hair myself and wore it up all the time as part of my job, whereas nowadays even brushing it was a major struggle and tying it up was impossible due to arthritis in my shoulders

I reluctantly let her talk me out of it and we agreed that she'd cut about 6" off to make it more manageable for me

But with the wind and rain of autumn and winter it just got more and more tangled and difficult to manage. I really hated having to keep wearing it in two plaits all the time to keep it free from tangles

Hence how we came to find ourselves outside of the barbers on Christmas Eve. I'm loving my new short hair again and feel so much more like my old self once more

 With so much going on on my life these days having to worry about what my hair is doing may seen pretty trivial to some, but cutting it off has been such a relief

I just hope my hairdresser, who's also a life long friend from our school days understands why I made this sudden decision and acted on it without thought

Wishing all of our followers a very Merry Christmas tomorrow

xxxxx

This post is linked too:-

Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop

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