{"id":654,"date":"2009-08-30T12:28:05","date_gmt":"2009-08-30T16:28:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/?p=654"},"modified":"2009-08-30T12:37:00","modified_gmt":"2009-08-30T16:37:00","slug":"to-be-or-not-to-be-white","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/?p=654","title":{"rendered":"To Be or Not To Be White"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before you get too carried away with the title of this reflection, ponder this.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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For years – since my early 20s – I have put color on my very thick hair.\u00c2\u00a0 I spotted my first gray hair when I was 19 and pulled it out quickly.\u00c2\u00a0 Before long my hair began getting a gray streak in it – much like that of a skunk. It didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t take long before my vanity took over and I was determined not to be what many call \u00e2\u20ac\u0153prematurely gray\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I found a color I liked and went faithfully to a hairdresser on a regular basis.\u00c2\u00a0 After that, I decided to start coloring it myself with the non permanent, peroxide free color one can buy over the counter.\u00c2\u00a0 I have colored my own hair ever since.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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For years I have enjoyed my auburn hair color and have received many compliments on it.\u00c2\u00a0 Whether they knew it was color or not I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know but since me vanity was intact it was of little consequence. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been over three months since I came to Houston for Leukemia treatment.\u00c2\u00a0 I lost much of my hair during the first chemotherapy.\u00c2\u00a0 The first month I was bed ridden. The hair that was left was fairly long when I got here and though they have a beauty shop here at the hospital, you had to go there and be able to sit up for them to take you in as a client – something I was unable to do. One day I asked Pierce and a visiting friend if they would simply cut my hair three inches from my scull all the way around.\u00c2\u00a0 They did a great job and Pierce lovingly put the cut off hair in a ziplock bag.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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The other day I decided to go to that beauty shop on my way from several outpatient appointments and get my hair cut down to the gray.\u00c2\u00a0 I knew, sooner or later, what I have left will fall out and it was beginning to show through the auburn.\u00c2\u00a0 I even thought about getting a buzz cut…I just was not quite sure.\u00c2\u00a0 My hairdresser friend, Russell, has told me for years I would be beautiful with white hair and why didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t I go ahead and let it grow out? \u00c2\u00a0 Of course, I said it was a vanity thing.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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When I got to the beauty shop I told the hairdresser what I was thinking and she could tell I was upset to lose my auburn hair.\u00c2\u00a0 She did a good job of shaping it up and still having some bangs on the front.\u00c2\u00a0 I just could not let myself go down to just the gray…just not yet.\u00c2\u00a0 I left with a great cut and we put the cutest headband on that accentuated the cut. I felt better. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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As I watch that gray getting more and more noticeable I decided to ask the doctor if I could color my hair.\u00c2\u00a0 The answer was no because the chemicals could interact with the meds I was I taking through the roots.<\/span><\/p>\n

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My one last attempt at vanity was squashed.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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So, my hair will continue to grow grey until chemo takes it all.\u00c2\u00a0 I know I can get a wig and I love wearing scarves and headbands in coordinating colors with my clothes. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I have adjusted my mind and am reminded that – if I feel good that day – I am blessed even more than I could imagine.\u00c2\u00a0 All of a sudden, things are not as important as they once were. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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My wish for you today<\/strong> is that you savor your days and don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t let vanity get in your way too much.\u00c2\u00a0 There are things in life that are much more important. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

~ Joellen<\/span><\/p>\n

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PS:\u00c2\u00a0 I am noticing more beautiful women with white hair these days…maybe Russell is right.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Before you get too carried away with the title of this reflection, ponder this.\u00c2\u00a0 For years – since my early 20s – I have put color on my very thick hair.\u00c2\u00a0 I spotted my first gray hair when I was 19 and pulled it out quickly.\u00c2\u00a0 Before long my hair began getting a gray streak […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16,42,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-humor","category-life-events","category-making-wise-choices","category-personal-challenges"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}