I realized something yesterday as I walked past a mirror and saw my reflection...I finally look like myself again! It's been a long time coming too.
Last March I had to chop all of my hair off. The October before, it had started to fall out and what was left by the new year was a knotted frayed mess. Before it started to fall out in clumps, my beautiful blonde hair was long, healthy, silky and all the way down to my butt! However, due to adrenal inefficiency (that would take another year to truly diagnose) my body started to break down, starting with my hair.
Now, I know. Hair is hair. It'll grow back. But it was hard to loose like that, being the lovely locks that they had been all my life. But something had to be done. It was just a horrible bird's nest at the nape of my neck everyday. It's frumpiness was just dragging me down.
I had to force my mother to do it. A seasoned hairdresser of 25+ years, she still didn't want to see it all go. But there was no use keeping it. So, with a chop chop chop, 15 inches were gone. By the time she was done trimming the rest up, my hair was only one inch long...
Yikes!
So, with more than a year later and taking care of my self - making sure I get the right amount of sleep, staying away from toxic people, and doing things for myself - I have almost made a full recovery...and my hair shows it ;)
It may have been a big chop at first, but it was worth it. And in more ways than one. Yes, it got rid of all that dead hair leaving room for new healthier growth. But it also a very concrete reminder too. Every time I was startled from my reflection in the mirror, seeing that I had no hair! - I was reminded that I had to take care of myself.
Even if I didn't feel like I had time to actually do it on some days, seeing my hair - taking what felt like an eternity just to grow past the tips of my ears! - I was reminded that I had to do something for myself every single day: I had to take a shower that day. I had to get to bed on time. I had to get out side and run. I had to write. Anything, something. All I knew was that I had to do something for myself that day.
Someone very wise once told me: if you don't take care of yourself, no one will.
No truer words were ever spoken. Everyone needs to know this and implement it into their lives, even if it takes a catastrophic event to make them realize that they need to take care of themselves.
We are all worth a little time and effort for ourselves. Many of us don't realize this and go through our lives giving and giving...but if we only give and give and never take a little for ourselves to refuel, someday there won't be anything left to give.
So here's to all of us doing a little something for ourselves this weekend, whether it's sleeping in a little later or going on that hike that we've only been talking about taking for months.
Enjoy!
And take care of yourself!
:)
