Call Me Chicken

They say we eventually look like our pets or is it the other way around? 

Will our pets look like us?

Either way

I have a month old baby Wyandotte chick who is in the process of losing her "fluff" 

and 

sprouting what appears to be some lovely silver outgrowth.  

There are clearly similarities between little silver and copper Alma

and my silver and coppery oxidized ends.

Do I look like my chicken?

or

Does she look like me?

The Stars Align...when you really need it. AKA Jesus Moment

For the last few months (I hate to admit) that I had felt lost.

Something had been missing and I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  I didn't know what I needed.  I didn't know what would help.  All I knew was that something wasn't sitting right.

A trip home for the holiday had been planned months in advance and I was excited.  A holiday gathering of cousins was in the making at my planning and I was excited. Some much needed time off was around the corner and I was excited.  A workshop with me at the helm was on the table and I was excited.  And yet, I still felt lost. Something was missing

My ability to blog had gone out the window.  Who cares about my hair?  I stopped checking in to my favorite Silver Sister Forum.  They are all fabulous women with stories and I had nothing.  I was lost.

A boost of some sort was clearly needed but one that couldn't be asked for.

While home for my world wind trip through the holiday over and over I hear about the infamous Jesus Moment.  My sister has had them.  My cousins have had them.  I'm sure I have had them but just didn't know what to call it.

Then, out of no where it happens.  The thing I've long since given up hearing.  The thing that only happens to my other silver sister.  Acknowledgement.  Unadulterated, un-provoked acknowdelgement.  My own Jesus Moment

A cherished cousin approaches me well into a gathering of family and is in awe of my decision to go gray.   After a big, warm hug, I am applauded for being brave, for embracing the real me.  I'm told I have a new sex appeal.  I'm told I'm more real and approachable.  And best yet, they have been waiting to meet the real me.  I've been hidden and shy for too long.  They have met the real me and they love it.

The stars and cousins align when you need them most....

.

Happy Anniversary to Me

At the end of August I arrived at the anniversary date of the last time I colored my hair.

Over the last few weeks I have tried to reflect on the past year.  What I have been through.  What this experience has meant to me and how it may have changed me.  All I keep thinking is...How do we define a year?  How do we measure it?

Technically its 12 months....52 weeks....365 days.  Wasn't this a leap year?  An extra day to transition.  Another day to measure.

Here are some of the ways I've measured my Year of Going Grayt

• A mirror.  Everyday, multiple times a day a mirror.  When a women begins her transition the mirror becomes like a drug and its not about vanity.  Its about curiosity, impatience, wonder and analysis.  A year equals really getting to SEEING yourself.   
• It is possible to measure a year with a ruler.  A ruler and, in my case, a patient, loving husband willing to measure my silvering roots.  A year equals six inches of silver.
• For some, this year can be measured in savings.  Less salon visits, no store bought dye.  For some, this year is measured in bonus money for NEW SHOES and MORE NEW SHOES.
• How about measuring it in time saved?  Two plus hours every month not hiding out in the bathroom chemically destroying our hair.  A dye free year equals gaining 24 hours.  In a leap year I actually gained two days.
• Can we measure a year in shampoo?  NoPoos, Blue Shampoos, Organic, Clarifying...A year equals 4 bottles of shampoo.
• Finally, photo documentation.  One year = 169 root shots.

For me I will measure this year in the confidence I have gained by being a more natural self.  I will measure it in the treasured friends and cohorts who have held my hand through the questions, the skunk stripe, the severe impatience.  And, I will measure it in those six inches of joyfully silver strands.

One year down and shooting for a pre-New Years completion...
And with that completion, a transitional slideshow.