I will be a half century old in a couple of weeks. 

I’ve had a chance to reflect on some things and I discovered - I LOVE ME!. 

Some women I know tell me not to tell my age. I’ve been told that age is just a number.  But is it! 

I have a friend who plucks the gray hair from her hair almost on a daily basis.  Says that she can’t stand to see the gray.  

I work with a lady who has her roots dyed every so often, because she said it does something to her to see all that gray.  “It makes me look old”, she says.

There are so many products out there to get rid of the gray.  Commercial after commercial (cover that gray).

But why? 

My hair has been salt and pepper from the day I was born.  As a matter of fact I had more growing up as a child than I have right now and I miss it – my gray hair.  

My mother told me when we were in New York visiting my uncle, she took my sister and I on a subway ride.  I was 3 or 4 years old.  My hair was parted in the middle and I had a plait on each side of my head.  The gray in my hair stood out like a flag waving “hey look at me on this child, I’m not supposed to show up until she is old”.  

As I looked behind the window, mom could see the lady in back of us leaning forward, looking at the top of my head.  She said she waited because she knew it was coming.  Finally the lady said,

“Excuse me, why did you dye her hair like that”. 

Mom turned to look at the lady and very calmly told her,

“I didn’t dye her hair!  She was born with it that color”. 

The lady smiled and said, ” oh it’s beautiful”.  

The color of my hair was an issue for me all through school and in my first marriage.  I don’t like to dye my hair.  

My nephew lives in Boston and we don’t see him often.  He came home and looked at me and gasped,

“Auntee, oh my God!” 

My heart skipped.

“What, what?” 

“You have to dye your hair, look at all that gray”. 

Well with a sigh of relief, I said,  “Boy leave my hair alone.  I had this hair before you were born and it’s always been this color if you ever took the time to really look at me”.  We laughed and he apologized. 

No need,  I love my hair.  There are days when it doesn’t look like there is any gray and then there are days, when the gray is just screaming hey look.  I have learned to love me and everything about me including my gray hair.   I think that gray hair is beautiful and since I have a birthday coming, I have asked God to let my hair go gray all the way.  My husband is gray and someone suggested that he get the men’s stuff that will color it.  Why I said, I like it just the way it is. 

I wonder if it has anything to do with my Grandmother explaining why I was born with gray hair.  Grandma said that my gray hair was God’s way of giving me an outward sign of the wisdom he put inside of me.  She said it and I believed it!

Or maybe it was Aunt Katie, she had gray hair as long as I can remember and she was so pretty. 

So with my 50th birthday 2 weeks away, I honor my gray hair! It doesn’t bother me a bit that some consider it old, unattractive or whatever. 

I love it.   

Have you seen the commercial with awesome women with, you guessed it - gray hair!

I say embrace it, flip it. flaunt it, honor it.   Because you are beautiful, I have it on very good authority.   God said everything he made was good and very good and that includes your gray hair. 

I am thankful to have lived long enough to get gray hair even if it was my beginning.

Celebrate You!

Blessings,

  Willy