G stands for …
I don't know, it just made me laugh.
I was planning on posting about something else tonight. In fact, I was thinking about it on my drive home from work, thinking about what it is that’s been knocking around in my head for the past few days, trying to escape. (Hey, it’s not easy. I have kind of a big noggin.)
There I was, picking up the mail, unlocking the front door and saying hello to the girls, who always come running when I walk in, even if I only left 60 seconds before to take out the trash. There I went, setting down my bag, turning on a lamp, flipping through the mail, and throwing the ball down the hallway for Weezy to fetch, which she promptly did NOT do.
[SIDEBAR: I swear, this cat. She will cry all day long for me to throw the damn thing. The other day I threw it 16 times in a row - yes, I counted - and 16 times she brought it back. Then one day she'll cry like her tail is on fire, I throw it, and she just sits there and blinks at me like, Oh, human. I swear she shakes her head at me, too.]
I strolled down the hallway to get the ball from where it landed in the bathroom, because maybe Weezy won’t fetch, but apparently I will. For reasons unbeknownst to me, I decided to look in the mirror. Huh. It’s been a while since I parted my hair. Yes, I usually like it a little disheveled, but it looks nice parted, too. I need some product. How long until I get it cut again? I need to look at the calenda-
Is that a gray hair?
Let me tell you something about my hair (because honestly, if you’ve made it this far, I have nothing to lose). I’ve pulled hairs off my head that are black, red, brown, and so blonde they’re almost white. I’ve had a couple of false alarms with the gray, thinking that I’ve spotted one, yanking it to be sure, then finding out it was really blonde. So anti-climactic.
Also, I’ve been fascinated with gray hair because I haven’t had any. My older brothers have PLENTY of gray, particularly at their temples. My next oldest bro is two years older than me, but at my age he’d been gray for a good three to four years already. I haven’t been dreading gray. In fact, I’ve been looking forward to it. As the youngest of my siblings and the perpetual class clown, I thought a little gray would do me some good.
So I looked. I LOOKED. I leaned in, with my forehead almost against the mirror. Blonde. Gray. Blonde. Gray. It looks shimmery. Must be gray. I took it between my fingers and pulled, and I swear it made that same violin string-snapping sound it made in the old Tom & Jerry cartoons when Jerry inevitably plucks out one of Tom’s whiskers.
And there it was. My first gray. Wisdom! Credibility! Maturity! I looked at myself in the mirror for a minute while I considered that. Well, maybe I should wait for that second renegade gray just to be sure. I rinsed my strand of wisdom down the drain and walked back out to play fetch with Weezy.
March 4th, 2010 at 7:44 am
My ex, L, had some gray hair. We met when she was 27, almost 28, and there was some in there then. I don’t know why, but I’ve always thought it was hot. When I look at pictures over the 6 year span we were together, you can see a little more sprinkled in after each year.
I like a little gray on my butches. Yay for you!
March 4th, 2010 at 8:47 am
maturity? you?
hahahaha. that’s funny!
March 4th, 2010 at 8:55 am
So the dichotomy with gray hair is that on males, they look distinguished, but on females they look like old bags. Where does this leave the butches? Are you now a sexy, sleek “silver fox” as you say? Or are you becoming an old bitty and will be pushed out of your job and seen as dried up and a waste (maybe I’m a little cynical this morning)? Can you simply be a person who is aging, and aging well? Gray hair is scientific – you lose the pigment gradually in your hair. Why must it demonstrate something about you and your position in life to society?
Gray hair should just be another part of life. Take it in stride. Own it. Wear it with pride. You have probably earned the few that you have. If you were suddenly sprouting something in the fuschia or turquoise department, there might be cause for alarm.
March 8th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
Capitol: I think this fits in with the long-time issue of the pressure put upon women to hide their age, while men are generally allowed a little more leeway in the “aging gracefully” department.
I’m not sure where I fit in as a butch, but I know where I fit in as a person: I plan on aging well. I like the laugh lines I have on my face. I can’t wait to find the next gray hair. If someone doesn’t think I’m aging well, or thinks I need to cover some of it up, I’ll just flip them the figurative bird with my arthritic finger.
March 4th, 2010 at 9:36 am
oh, how cool would it be if hair turned fuchsia or turquoise as we aged!? sorry…i’ve never quite had the guts to dye my hair ;)
anywho, this is so cute. and i totally dig grey hair – on butches, femmes, really anyone who wears it well, and (so far) myself.
March 8th, 2010 at 8:48 pm
Lady Brett: I’d also like to petition for green. I’ve been told I look good in that color.
March 4th, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Okay, wow. I totally have grey hair. And I’m in my 20s. Just a few strands (20? 30?) but it’s unmistakable… But I don’t mind, because people *so often* think I’m way younger than I am (I’m ALWAYS getting ID’ed) because I’m small, and the grey helps me justify feeling older :)
Congratulations, G, on your first grey!
March 8th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
Alpha: Thanks! I like gray on women. And I usually get guessed at younger than I actually am, so maybe I can at least look my age for once.
March 4th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
I’m jealous. My wife once told me she’d seen a butch with a grey flat top who looked really good and very distinguished. I’ve got the flat top, I just need the grey.
OK got to go and examine my hair now just in case.
March 8th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
H: Let me know if you find anything. However, the flat top looks damn good no matter what.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:40 am
There are two mighty friendly silver fox tomboys in my life, for I am blessed.
Their hair (and Helen Mirren’s, let’s be honest) awes and inspires me. EMBRACE IT. M got one in late 2008 and we haven’t really seen any since. Mine are coming in like crazy and they rivet M for hours. They’re super shimmery like yours. Did you know they’re the result of a decrease in a certain type of enzyme? True story. (I think.)
March 9th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
FFAF: Shimmery grays, unite!
I am riveted by a woman’s gray, too. I find it so attractive. I’m certainly not freaked out by mine (as evidenced by my FURTHER obsessive searching for a new one; I feel bad that I pulled that last little guy out!).
March 10th, 2010 at 9:14 am
I have an uncle that was fully gray by the time he graduated highschool. Well i suppose he has a few balck hairs still but thats beside the point. Both of my grandparents (his parents) have this extremely beautiful, distinguished mostly gray or in my grandothers case white hair. I colored my hair from 13 to about a year ago…so this time last year I realized just how much gray I have. I find new ones almost everyday and while Boo asks if I want her to pull them out, because afterall what 26 year old wants so much gray, I find them…intriguing. Beautiful. Exciting. In fact, while I am tired of the same old same old and thinking of coloring my hair again, my grays have kept me from doing it thus far. Who wants to have rich mocha brown when the can have these wirey grays!
Congratulations on your first gray, G…but next time…please refrain from pulling it out!!
March 13th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
BD: I think it’s cool that you embrace the gray! And the only reason I pulled this one out was to see if it really was gray. No worries, I won’t pull any more.