Blank Canvas

  It's official. The hair from my forehead to my ears is completely white. There may be a strand or two of brown, but not much. People who know me may be surprised by this because I've coloured my hair for the last 20 years. This is not because I'm afraid that I will look old if I allow my hair to go white. I simply prefer it to be brown with highlights.
  Women in my family tend to go white pretty early. I started going white when I was in college. I consider the fact that I still have some colour in my hair at my age to be a miracle. Most of the women are completely white by their middle 40s.
  Every so often I check to see how much white I have in my hair. I do this because I have a plan, but all my hair needs to be white before I do it.
  I figure that once my hair is all white then it is a blank canvas. I can do whatever I want with it. I can make it any colour. My original plan was to have it coloured Lucille Ball red. I've had red in my hair, but have never been a redhead. I think it would be fun to do this. Once I actually looked at the hair colour. I changed my mind. You have to have a certain skin tone to pull that off, I don't have it.
  That doesn't mean I can't have red hair. I'm just going to have to find another shade. Thankfully I have a good hair stylist that will help me. She's a very creative person. We can do all kinds of cool things with my hair once it loses all it's natural colour.
  This doesn't mean I'm going to get really crazy. I have seen older women with pink hair, green hair and blue hair. (I'm talking teal blue, not the kind of blue hair that some elderly women get.) I'm still a pharmacist after all. It's a conservative profession. I can try shades of red and maybe even shades of lighter brown that I don't do now. the only shade I won't try is blonde. I do not want to be a blonde. I just don't think it would look good.
  One of the privileges of getting older is that you don't have to care what others think. You've reached an age where you should be comfortable with who you are. You don't need to impress people. You can take a few risks.
   I completely and totally reject the idea that older people are worn out and have nothing left to offer. It's a shame that the society we live in now values youth to the point that some women will go to large lengths to avoid even looking a little old. There is great value in experience.
   As I am a few years away from the half century mark, I find myself thinking about things like this a little more often. I'm beginning to see that life, like my hair at some point, is a blank canvas or page. It's up to me to decide what I'm going to put on it. I'm happy with what I've done so far, but I think it's time to add a little colour. ( or some music)