Is That Really Me?

   We were preparing to go to the Arboretum and I was digging through my closet looking for a suitable hat. C pulled one out of the pile and handed it to me. "Wear this one," he said.
   I looked at the hat. I forgot I had it. It was bright blue and made out of ribbons that had been sewn together. (It sounds strange, but it does make a nice hat.) I tried it on. Perfect, brim was wide enough to keep the sun off my face. It was tight enough so the breeze wouldn't take it off. I went into the bathroom to make sure it was on right. As I looked into the mirror, something didn't look right. It was my face in the mirror, but it didn't look the same. I stared at myself for a few minutes trying to figure out what was different. Then I saw it
   It was my eyes. They looked blue.
   The person staring back at me in the mirror had blue eyes. I closed my eyes for a minute and shook my head. I had to be seeing things. I don't have blue eyes. I opened my eyes and looked back in the mirror. Sure enough, they were blue. Not a real bright blue, but definitely blue. I called C into the bathroom.
   "Do my eyes look blue?" I asked. He looked at me for a few seconds. "Yeah, they do, Hat must be bringing out the colour in them." He ambled off into the living room.
  I was irked. I used to have big brown eyes. I have several pictures with me where I clearly have dark brown eyes. Sometime in my 30s they changed colour. Instead of being that lovely brown, they are now a kind of greenish brown heavy on the green. I'm not sure how it happened. No member of my family has green eyes. I asked my eye doctor who said that there is a serious eye disease that can make eyes change colour. He assured me that I didn't have it.
   I wasn't really happy about the blue eyes. I don't look like me. I left the bathroom,turned out the light, put on my sunglasses and got in the car to leave.
   A few days later I got my hair coloured and cut. When the stylist asked me how much to cut off I asked her how much it had grown. She said one inch. "Take off two," I said.
   I don't know why I said that. I think I was hoping that if it were a bit shorter it would curl more. I think I look better with curlier hair.
   When I get my hair done, the stylist usually blow drys it and flat irons it until it is a little wavy. It's a nice change of pace for me. Once everything was done,she handed me a mirror so I could look at myself.
    I was expecting to look a lot different. I'm used to seeing myself with curly hair so straight takes a bit of adjustment. The person in the mirror didn't look like me. She looked really good. The hair was the perfect colour and it framed her face nicely. It took an effort of will to not say, "Is that really me?"
   It's interesting that such small things can make such big changes. Just wearing a blue hat changed the colour of my eyes and cutting one extra inch off my hair turned me into someone I didn't recognise.
  I thought about all the women who have plastic surgery and various procedures done to look different. Did any of them ever try something simple like a hairstyle or a wardrobe change? Maybe they wouldn't have had to go through all the pain or spend all the money. Women have done some drastic things so they will look different and better.
   I'm still getting used to the "new" me. So far I think I like it. One person asked me if I lost weight. (Gotta love that) I think I'll stay this way for a bit. Maybe I'll figure out what colour to wear to make my eyes look brown.......