Greetings, Sunny Optimist buddies,
Lockdown continues!
I am 'well and truly' house-bound with the snow.
I am missing the family, and
I want chocolate!
Plenty of reasons not to be cheerful! And yet, I am cheerful and called to be playful with you this week. I do hope my musings brightens your day.
As always I would love to know how you are.
Getting older and wandering down Memory Lane
It is a bit of a surprise that I am heading for being 70. I am somewhat bemused that this has crept up on me. I am not always convinced that the face I see in the mirror is me! Wry smile.
I am aware of the arc of history that my life has spanned. I am a post-war baby, born at a time when there was still rationing in the UK. I remember The Swinging Sixties, The Beatles, The Kennedy Assassination, Walking on the Moon, the Chernobyl Explosion, and so much more. I am a baby boomer, one of what is called 'the pig in the python generation.' Meaning that my generation has been a bulge of significant impact in every decade it has passed through. It feels a great privilege to have had this life and I am grateful.
And, one of the things about having this number of years behind me is the memories that arise from the most unlikely situations. For example, at the beginning of the week, I really wanted my hair cut; it was too long and a bit straggly. So! I set up a chair in the bathroom with an old towel underneath. I washed my hair, went to the garage, fetched our large wallpaper cutting scissors, and then said to David. "Please cut my hair!" He was horrified! And reluctant, to say the least. But I persevered with my request. It turned out much better than either of us expected. My hair is now manageable again. I doubt Michelle, the hairdresser, will be much-impressed mind you when I do get back to her.
This 'haircutting event' brought back memories of the challenges I have had with my hair over the years. I am somewhat follicly challenged, as you might say, in that my hair is very fine and very straight. It has been a bit of a journey and today I thought I would entertain you will my hairstyles over the years.
Ann of 1000 Hairstyles
Do you remember the film about Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn, which was called 'Anne of a Thousand Days'? Well! I have had a bit of a journey with my hair over my 70 years. I have had a variety of hair do's. I have had many permanent waves (perms), long hair, short hair, a fringe, no fringe, coloured not coloured. My ‘cows lick’ always made having a fringe rather tricky. When I would arrive with my latest hairstyle, I would deflect my family and friend's cheeky comments by saying, 'Well, I am Ann of a 1000 hairstyles, you know'.
Here is a chronological view of my hairstyles for your delectation.
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The Early Years
My Mum has a bit to answer for in my early years. I remember my daughter Judy saying the same thing to me as I attempted to find a suitable solution for her unruly hair. Perhaps this lack of confidence around hairstyles is hereditary!
Age 2 : Side parting with a clasp was Mum’s strategy
Age 5 : Still with side parting and a great clump of curls plonked on the side. I remember Mum putting in metal curlers that hurt. Check out the hand-knitted cardigan too. Mum was a prolific knitter.
Aged 8 : Side parting persists this time with a kirby grip. And here begin the faces I would pull when being photographed. This is what I call my ‘scunnered’ face. (Scunnered - Scottish word meaning ‘bored or not overly happy’.)
Age 12 : Here you can see the ‘Cow’s lick’ that I have which makes a fringe really tricky.
Teenage Years
Ages 14 : This captures the beginning of my love/hate relationship with perms. Note parting on the other side, but the kirby grip is still around. I remember the curls were so tight I could not get the brush through them.
Age 16: Hair tied up to manage the latest perm. Another photograph face which feels a bit supercilious LOL!
Early Adulthood
Age 22 : This a publicity shot for an audition to sing in a band in the summer of 1973. This is the longest my hair ever got too. Still had to be permed which was a real faff. ( Faff - Scottish word for a ‘lot of bother’.)
Age 24 : On the spur of the moment, I went to the hairdresser and had my long hair cut short. Plus another perm! My boyfriend, later to be my first husband, said ‘Please tell me this is a wig’!
Age 27 : MSc Graduation. I decided to grow my hair out again and this was the fashion in the late 70’s. It worked for a while.
Middle Years
Aged 32: Had another perm to go on a big trip to visit my sister who had emigrated to Australia. I wanted my hair to be easily managed in the heat. This perm was a disaster! I had it cut short as soon as I got home. How cute is Judy here, aged 18 months?.
Ages 44 : My last ever perm. It was at this stage I spoke to the hairdresser, and asked her to help me grow my hair long. I just wanted to have it up out of the way. I was done battling:)
Ages 50 : Long hair at last. Beginning to go grey.
Later Years
Age 55: I think I can say that this feels like me. This is a time in my life where my hair, my clothes, and my work all seemed to be in alignment.
Nearly 70 : Where I am now. At ease now with my hair, I like being grey too.
Question for this week
Thank you for this journey down memory lane.
I wonder, what theme spans your life that would be fun to explore?
As always I would love to. hear from you.
Ann
Thank you Ann. What a delight to read this unique topic. Big smile on face.
Living on an Island off an Island one learns to hoard and stash high value items for the winter months when ferries tend to be erratic! Lockdown for me is a yearly experience, time to move at a slower pace...
the theme of my life has been being very tall and slim. 6’1” at 13 I only grew another inch and a half after that. Through height I explored my identity beyond others perceptions. Why did people mistake me for a boy or think it ok to constantly point out my height. I became an athlete exploring and pushing the boundaries of physical achievement. Then a period of deep internal discovery following a viral infection that left me physically and mentally adrift.
Finding and accepting the gifts of being tall have emerged gradually alongside the understanding of being a unique spark of creation plus of course being able to wear the same sized clothes for the last 35 years!
I have come to love and appreciate the being inside the outer shell which has being part of the forging of deep resilience, curiosity, sense of humour, compassion for self and others and a connection to the beauty of all life.
Ps I can send emergency chocolate if required