Gray Hair and Wisdom

"A little gray hair is a small price to pay for all this accumulated wisdom." Anonymous

Lately I've noticed a touch of gray hair at my temple...oh c'mon, who am I kidding! I've been fighting gray hair for the past ten years. Sometimes I think it's because I've been coloring my hair ever since I was in high school.

 

 

In this picture for instance you can see my natural hair color in the picture on the left, it's kind of a medium dark brown. I used to color my hair Auburn in high school, as you can see in the picture on the right. I don't know why I did that because out in the sun the color was more circus clown orange than Auburn. But I've been a redhead, a medium blond, had streaks and once even dyed my hair Cher black (that was not a good look for me!)

 

To be honest the gray in my hair doesn't really bother me, other than having to color it more often. But I am a little upset in the way my gray is coming in. I would love for it to be salt and peppery like Jamie Lee Curtis' hair. That would be cool.

 

But unfortunately my gray is more Cruella Deville-ish. Well not exactly like hers as mine isn't one side gray and one side black, more like the hair at the crown and temples is all gray for about an inch and then it's my natural color.  It seems odd to me that only that one inch grows gray...does it automatically then turn brown once it gets past an inch? How is that even possible? Weird right?!

Anyway, my reason for pondering gray hair this morning is that the other day I was wondering what my kids thought when they first noticed I had gray hair. I wondered because I remember the first time I saw my dad with gray hair.

 

He was sitting at the kitchen table in his chair, the chair that we could all sit in when he wasn't around but the instant he walked into the kitchen, everyone jumped up to give him his chair. I remember turning around and the sun hit his hair just right and all of a sudden I noticed that he was gray. I'd never noticed that before!

 

 

All of a sudden I realized that my dad, my rock in life, the only man I could ever count on, was getting older. I realized that one day he wouldn't be there, in that chair anymore for any of us. He wouldn't be there to call on when I had a flat tire or I needed a bulb changed in a tail light. He wouldn't be there to BBQ for us all anymore.

 

Well...lest you think this is a sad story, let me tell you that I first noticed that gray hair on his head in 1995 and he's still with us today. The photo above was taken on his birthday in May of this year and he's still got that gray hair and he's still with us, and though he complains of aches and pains, I know that he loves life and he loves his children and grandchildren. I had dinner with him, my sister and his grandson Isaac on Wednesday of this week and as I was driving him to the restaurant I was telling him about an electrical problem I think I am having with my car and again he gave me advice on how to tell what is wrong with it. My dad, my rock, my mechanic...he's still got it!

 

I wonder if my kids think anything when they see my gray. Does it worry them, scare them? Who knows. I know I never told my dad of my fears that I wouldn't always have him around forever.

 

"When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars,

 and he will make the face of Heaven so fine

 that all the world will be in love with night

and pay no worship to the garish sun."

Shakespeare - Romeo and Juliet