“Mrs. Daniels! Something STRANGE is going on here!” a third grade boy muttered into my ear right after my writing workshop lesson.
“What, honey, what’s wrong?”
“Well,” he continued, “This morning, your hair was this caramel-chocolate color and now. . . well, it’s turning grey!”
My cheater reading glasses rested on top of my head, pulling back my bangs and hair along my hairline. Note to self: buy a box of hair color on the way home. I laughed and I don’t think he knew why. This boy had a serious question and wanted an answer for how hair can turn grey so fast.
“Are you magic?” he smiled.
I wish.
I tire of coloring my hair. The box colors seem to last about two weeks on my grey patches now. I can’t be running to a salon every month. Geez.
“When can I start letting my hair go grey?” I ask my friend.
“Oh, never!” she warns.
“Seriously? I can’t do this until I’m 70. My own mother JUST now stopped coloring her hair and it’s a beautiful grey. I can’t go another 20 years.”
“Oh, but, we have to.”
Fine.
Another box of Clairol Nice and Easy ~Dark Auburn is purchased.
My poor little third grader is going to be so confused.
Islands of My Soul 
They notice everything, don’t they?
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My mom started coloring her hair early…what else could she do? One of the many country superstitions she grew up with was “if you pull out one grey hair, two more will grow in.” Her experience in the workplace made her believe you were treated differently if you had grey hair- not in a good way. But the women of the family, my grandmother and aunts all had beautiful white hair as they got older. I vowed I was not going to color mine. Then, approaching the year of our fortieth birthdays, my husband and I adopted a baby! My mom convinced me I just couldn’t go gray. So I started coloring my hair. My mom didn’t let hers go white until she was approaching 80. When she passed away, the funeral home asked if we wanted her hair colored. My sister, brothers and I shouted “No!” in unison. I determined not to wait so long. Now at 63, I have the white hair characteristic of my family. I have never had as many compliments on my hair!
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Not only do they notice everything, but they aren’t afraid to tell you about it! He’s definitely looking out for you as well!
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I laughed! How funny what kids tell us. I am letting my hair go silver, but I only have a few silver threads right now. One day a student walking down the hall asked me, “How did you get all that silver in your hair?” Hmm…
Thanks for sharing. I really enjoyed it.
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Go gray! I love my gray hair.
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I appreciate your perspective and humor. I refuse to go gray and realized some time ago the box colors just weren’t cutting it for me, and so I get my hair colored monthly at a salon. (What was originally every five weeks is now every four. Ugh.)
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Perhaps you are magic! And, why can’t you let it go? Wouldn’t that be a fun surprise for them to watch?!
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Kids do really notice and some never worry about commenting. I decided years ago that I was never going to color my hair and I (mostly) do not regret it. Your slice was a perfect piece of everyday life in grade 3!
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Yes. Kids do notice everything. I never knew my mother without her beautiful silver hair, but I have always colored mine. While some greys can be silvery, others can be just drab looking. I’ve thought about finding out which one I have, but never followed through.
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Pushing the relate button! OMG. I am so there. I have been coloring my hair for 10 years already and I can not go all the way to 70. The grey grows faster than bacteria (bacteria grows super fast, right?) and it spreads like a bad habit. It seems that the time between color gets shorter and shorter. I can’t. I have promised myself that at 50 I will embrace me. My parents are always encouraging me to let it go. My aunts all let theirs go. It will be my turn to let it go.
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I’m sitting here looking at the box of root touch-up I just bought yesterday in an attempt to limp through to my next salon apptmt. It’s not the right color but I’m hoping it will be close enough if maybe I don’t leave it on too long?! I started going gray when I was 23, so I’ve been coloring my hair for 20 years! Not sure when I’ll be ready to let it go…. Really enjoyed the structure of this piece.
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