Change

 
Change. They say it’s the only thing you can count on in this world, and yet people have mixed feelings about it. Dread, eagerness, fear, hatred, relief, or even indifference. Often, the emotion tied to it depends on the change itself and how it comes to our door. A change for the better that comes unexpectedly is commonly called a “welcome change.” A turn for the worse that drops on us suddenly is called … well, it’s called lots of names, many of which I can’t repeat here.

Just as often, how we react to change depends on its source. If we initiate it, then there is some measure of control, and from that, a measure of comfort. If we are blindsided, then sometimes, instinct takes over.

But not all change is apparent. There are instances when the change happens ever so slowly, gradually making itself at home, steadily and incrementally establishing itself until you wake up one day, suddenly realizing what happened, not quite sure how it all came down.

I’ve been in a reflective mood about change these days because of this.

 

 
See that? That’s almost 9 inches of hair. My hair. 9 inches that crept up on me without me realizing it. Who knows how much extra shampoo it forced me to buy? Not to mention all those extra minutes trying to towel dry the unruly mane (believe it, my hair is anything but ruly). Life was so crazy and bigger changes were happening all around me that this little half-inch-a-month change went on unnoticed.

When I finally noticed it, I admit, instinct took over. I immediately went to take care of it, but then remembered that I left my samurai swords in the Philippines (yes, I sooo have a samurai sword collection). And then I remembered I was a grown up, and made an appointment with my hairdresser who had all but forgotten who I was. She probably thought I got deported for trying to smuggle swords into the country.

My call dashed her hopes.

 

 
With one neat snip of her shears, this change that crept up on me was gone. Just like that. And as a bonus, I learned that it was long enough to donate to help children with cancer. So my story has a happy ending—a better one that I expected.

Until I spotted this.

 

 
It’s these slow, stealthy, cumulative changes that get us all the time. Hair, weight, apathy, resentment, guilt, or even regret—they all have the tendency to sneak up on us and keep growing. Sometimes that’s okay, but sometimes, we’ve got to start hacking away.

 

 
I’m here for you if you need me.

 
 

13 thoughts on “Change”

  1. A little bit of gray is a sign of experience. Nothing wrong with a little experience. Besides, you have beautiful hair! Good on you for donating the cut to those in need.

  2. Bravo! I just had 8″ taken off my hair and it felt liberating. At the same time, I kind of miss it too. Can’t wait to see you!!

  3. I always have a difficulty dealing with change either… bur what you said here is true… we have to start hacking it…
    the words and the picture are very powerful! I should just visualize this whenever I have an emotional baggage about change!

    Cheers,
    Malou

  4. I was hoping we’d finally get to see a picture of the elusive Ms. Hut in this post, showing off the ‘do! Before and after would be cool…hint, hint! ;-)

  5. What a unique way to post about a hair cut! Love the fact that you are donating to help kids with cancer. My grand-daughter cut her long hair last year, just after her sixth birthday and donated hers to Locks of Love.

    As for the grey, it has been years since I had just one grey hair LOL.

  6. I recenty donated about 10 inches of hair myself. I too ended up with all the hair due to neglecting to go to my hairdresser. Before I knew it, it was almost down to my waste. It was very liberating to finally rid myself of all that hair and felt good to know someone else will benefit from it. Kudos to you for doing the same. Why let it go to waste, right? Oh and my locks of hair constituted of several gray hairs. I called them gray highlights. :)

  7. Congrats on the change!

    My hair is currently longer than it’s ever been since I was in high school. So it’s a gradual change but sometimes I don’t recognize myself in the mirror. Of course, the hair thing is a whole different game for men.

  8. Change is good especially when it is going to such a good cause. I donated my hair for the first time last year. Unfortunately, my hair doesn’t grow fast enough for me to donate again. I’ll have too much grey hair by then. So, no more donation for me unless they change the requirements. In the meantime, I’m chopping away everytime I see a new hairstyle that I like. It is only hair and it will grow back.

  9. Oh my, saw your tweet about your home!

    I am so sorry. I lost my home to fire once about 20 years ago and it was one of the toughest times of my life, but we came through it as a family and the fact that everyone is safe is such a blessing!

    Hugs to you and yours,

    RMW

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