All in a Day...
All in a day...
A new mom gifts herself with an hour of pampering, a teen shares her online album of prom styles, a snowbird returns, a teacher recites the Gettysburg address, a corporate mom coaches softball, a good friends says farewell, and an excited family’s planning for a pool.
Eight simple hours of connection and sharing...all in a day at the salon.
Time marked with candid and raw, joy and laughter, shock and concern, occasional sizzle and always a chance of tears.
I listen, I nod, I advise, but most important, I gain wisdom within the minutes...
The young mom’s quest to do-it-all ‘right’ worries about balancing her attention between children, work, home, and husband.
I’ve been there; I’m still there, because this precious gift of womanhood never ends.
Stability and the sense of balance...modification, subtle shifts, assessing at all times, predicting and anticipating, keeping multiple balls in the air.
Freshly colored and coiffed she reenters the juggling act of young motherhood.
The giggling teens are up next. Focused on the immediacy of their world...PROM... dresses, hair, shoes, and makeup...simpler times and fond memories.
I recall a Homecoming dance when my brother-home from college- crashed with my boyfriend of the hour in tow (of course he wasn’t my date... not so simple, but so ME! )
But the thought of my dress and the gold glitter I’d dusted across my shoulders...
From simple to well-seasoned... a retiree finished with eight to ten hours of daily employment. Spiced, rubbed, and glowing with the kiss of the southern sun following her three month residency in the state of beaches and beauty. Her most urgent mission? Choosing new kitchen tile and lighting fixtures... I can hardly imagine but I can dream.
Lunch... a brief inhale of sushi and Pad Thai before a survivor of school aged children flops into my hydraulic chair.
His comparison of a parental request for conference having a larger footnote than the Gettysburg address slays me. The email had been copied to the nearly the complete district’s contact list, administrative, principals, support staff, grade level teachers, possibly the lunch ladies.
“I mean seriously Laura, President Lincoln didn’t even have a microphone.”
TRUTH...
The door chime sings again and a master of the balls in her airspace enters in a controlled flash.
She’s already changed from corporate attire to coaching, maximizing her minutes, and will keep the efficiency rolling by squeezing in a color and cut before scooping up the kiddos in route to practice.
She inspires me.
My next appointment I’ve looked forward to and dreaded all day... a farewell... so happy for my friend’s move to the middle of the country to pursue the next level of her career and be within an hour of two of her four children.
We did well restraining our tears during the appointment...but the time passed and the transaction ended minus one step... the re-book.
The first tear slipped across my cheek... a mark of the intimacy of the industry, friendship beyond service, profoundly life changing.
The loss of in-person connection will transfer to email and FB and that’s ok, it’s a miracle really... and the gifts she’s given me during our years of shared time will be carried all my days.
I have a second to blow my nose and reapply my mascara before the final appointment of the day enters...
Her family is changing homes to suit the maturing family...grandchildren. Radiating joy, excitement, and anticipation for the buying and selling. The pieces faithfully falling into place in the manner nothing but divine guidance can explain.
Tidying the salon, my mind replays each gift the shared time offered...
All in a day...
Chat soon~ Laura
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