For the sake of confidentiality, I'll call them by the name of the month in which I made their lovely acquaintance...
April: April is a professional, single mother who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Preparing to enter her 2nd chemotherapy treatment, she contacted me and asked if I would be willing to cut her long hair, in anticipation for complete hair loss.
April brought her best friend with her to our appointment. It was easy to keep the conversation light, and she let me have fun with a really short "Sharon Stone" style pixie and some product, and oh my, it was adorable on her! She'd never had short hair in her 46 years of life, and she loved it, truly she did. But, after a few minutes of admiration, her large smile faded and the shadows reappeared in her eyes.
I'd hoped that the bottle of champagne and great shade of lipstick would help matters; but in the end, April did not want to be distracted from the reality of her illness. She knew the next chemo treatment would cause her to abruptly lose large amounts of hair, and she did not want to "wake up and see the clumps on my pillow each morning", she'd told me. She needed her hair to be as short as possible. I must say, she was strong, realistic, and honest about what was happening in that chair. She sat gracefully with head high. Her poise kept me focused on what needed to be done. I hugged her, then turned her away from the mirror.
Deep breath.
Praying for a happy ending to this story.
May: May is a splendidly tall, 87 year old woman who asked me to make her look "pretty like a Queen" for her grandson's wedding. She arrived with her sparkly red nails, full head of white hair, and huge smile. May repeatedly talked about the silver dress that she would be wearing to the wedding later on that day and how she would be dancing with the most handsome man at the party.
She and her late husband were survivors of the Hungarian Revolution. Immediately after marrying, the couple spent two weeks separated on a boat headed to America. She spoke about the job boards in New York City, and how she refused to move to Texas because of the cowboys and Indians. They settled in California because that's "where the moviestars lived."
She was funny without trying to be funny. As I blew dry her hair, she firmly asked me not to "cook" her, then laughed hysterically at herself. As time went on and she spoke in her thick accent, it became easier to understand her stories of life in California and working as a tailor for Nordstrom. Her eyes lit up when she told me of her "Lifetime Discount"!
This story of the Queen May in her silver gown and red fingernails, dancing with her beloved grandson who looks so much like his grandfather, ends happily ever after. Of course it does.
June: I know the least about June. When we met, we exchanged one of those handshakes that you just know is going to be followed by a hug. A long hug. She could not remember the last time she'd received a professional hair service. Smiling behind her tears, she was incredibly grateful, but also nervous, to be sitting in my chair. June is so beautiful, but so broken.
Happy to have just taken a big step towards independence by signing an apartment lease, she's finally ready to re-enter the workforce. June has small children, overdue bills, and big worries. But she has even bigger dreams and tremendous potential. It is my job, and my honor, to help her find the confidence to move towards those goals.
We are helping her story have a happy ending....and she will!
All three of these women came looking for the same thing... to feel GOOD. Feeling good on the outside. On the inside. And even deeper still.
Girls, all three of you are Rockstars.
Girls, we are ALL Rockstars!
