To Cut or Not to Cut!

All my life I heard from my mother that women "of a certain age (that number yet to be determined)" should not have long hair.

Well, here is my conundrum.

For nearly two years, I have been letting my hair grow. It has become quite long in fact, nearly halfway down my back, longer that it has been since high school and since my 30th reunion is next year, well, you do the math!

Originally, I admit, I did it for a man. My lover mentioned that it was starting to grow out and he liked it longer so there you have it! Of course I let it grow!

I pamper it, condition it, buy all kinds of products promising to make hair grow strong and long and lush. Yeah right! But I still fall prey to their promises of a thick, shining mane like those hair models on TV who are of course about 20 years old and probably have extensions but anyway, I digress,

I guess it is akin to my fountain of youth, chasing those last few vestiges of what I consider keep me young if not young looking. Herein lies my problem:

If my long locks make me look old, then why do I keep them? People often tell me I look much younger than my actual age (which of course makes my day!) But when I see a woman (who I presume to always be older than myself) with long hair, I think to myself, "Do I look like that?"

I keep my hair colored, and like I said, I take good care of it. I keep it trimmed and healthy and not gray.

A co worker of mine, upon hearing of the demise of my recent relationship told me that now I needed to cut my hair! She hates it and recently told me it drives her crazy to see me play with it, but then I really never cared much what anyone thought anyway, especially this woman.

So I told her, "I'm keeping it for me, I like it, I didn't just grow it for a man, he may have been the catalyst but not the reason I keep it." She just sighed and shook her head.

The group of teenage girls I work with love my hair. They love to brush it and braid it and curl it. It feels so good to have someone sit and brush my hair down my back. It is so relaxing. It reminds me of the times I would lean over to kiss my lover, my hair gently falling across his face. It makes me me feel young and sensual.

So the man I loved has left me but the hair remains. Faithful to the bitter end! When I am stressed or bored or just for comfort, I run my hands through it, touching it and feeling it brush across my back just makes me feel good.

So why let the world dictate what length I wear my locks! Why let the world try to tell me to act and look "my age". I think I'll keep my mane and act my shoe size instead! It is so much more fun! Besides, it keeps me warm in the winter!