Embracing the Silver

Sometimes, something just clicks to help you make a decision that you have been grappling with for a long time. After almost 2 decades of dying my hair, I just recently made the decision to stop and let nature take it's course to reveal my silver and/ or gray hair. Time will tell if it will be more silver or gray, I guess it depends on your perspective.  Yet, the epiphany for me was a random video about a woman who was encouraged and "liberated" by the simple act of embracing gray hair and living an "authentic life".  That spoke to me and just like that CLICK, I was ready.

This may not seem like a big deal to some, but I bet many women can relate to the quandary of such a decision. For some it's a specific age that would factor into the decision. I used to say, "I won't stop coloring my hair until I'm 60." Well 60 has come and gone and these past few years I've been on the fence with the topic. This week it felt good to make the decision.  Embracing the silver is so much more than simplifying your beauty routine, it also brings with it a certain self-acceptance. It reaffirms aging as a process to be celebrated, not a flaw to be corrected.  

I talked to several women about this and many said that felt very satisfied with the decision to embrace their natural hair color. I friend of mine stated that she was so happy with the end result that: " I should have done it sooner". Some women also say that it provides a realization of inner beauty and embracing who you are in the "here and now", not some manufactured version of what beauty is supposed to be. 

Of course I just got started, so it may be anywhere from 6 to 8 months to return to my natural color. I know genetics play a huge factor into when one goes grey and by how much.  My Mother, who had beautiful wisps of silver in her dark brown hair, lived to 94 and never did go completely gray.  My original hair color is a darker brown like hers, so I imagine I won't get all over gray, but time will tell.  Mom never dyed her hair and I remember her saying the common colloquial expression: "I earned those gray hairs!"  (On a side note, I was probably the wild child that gave her many of those grays) So instead of covering them up I will proudly display the gray hairs that I have earned.

Which leads me to another thought about silver and gray hair as a badge of honor. Sometimes this society celebrates youth, which is fine, but the older members of society have a voice too.  A voice that is crafted by lessons learned in life.  Wisdom achieved that can be carried on to the younger.  As our world changes it best to remember that it works BOTH ways: the young can learn from the older and the older and learn from the young.  It's  also touched upon in the Bible in several places.  Proverbs 16:31 states: Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is attained along the path of righteousness.

I'm not sure how righteous I am, but it does help me remember that  I have been blessed to live this long to have gray hair. Every passing year is a gift.   Julie Etta Smith

1959

What an awesome year it was....1959. Alaska and Hawaii both became states and "official" members of these United States and also.... I was born. Perhaps not exactly a banner event, but I love sharing my "birthday" with both Alaska and Hawaii. Since we did come to being in the same year I have always had a desire to visit those two exotic locals.  I know that both states had a long, diverse history prior to becoming part of the U.S., but nevertheless, 1959 is significant for all three of us.

I know many things were going on in '59 that are worthy of note.  Here's just a sampling: Fidel Castro's forces were victorious in the Cuban revolution. Xerox launched the first commercial copier. Work began on the formulation of a birth control pill (it didn't hit the market until 1960) The United States launched the Vanguard II weather satellite. Then sadly, also in 1959, the event that later was called the "Day the Music died": a chartered plane transporting musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper crashed in foggy conditions near Clear Lake, Iowa killing all four occupants on board including the pilot: Roger Peterson.  Don Mclean's classic song "American Pie" (1971) included a memorial to these musicians paying tribute to them singing of "the day the music died". A sad event, but a classic song that most Baby Boomers know all the words to. 

While looking back to the year 1959, many journalists and reports claimed it was a turning point in this country on many levels: cultural, economic and also the roles of men and women.  Since I was born in 1959, I would never be destined to be constrained by the role of a 1950's housewife.  Any perceptions o that lifestyle would only be seen by me in black and white re-runs of "Leave it to Beaver".  I feel fortunate that many of the Feminist ideals of equality had already been forged ahead  long before the time I even thought about relationships, marriage and the battle of the sexes...both  in the workplace and the personal level.  Yes, 1959 was a banner year...but what really struck me that those two most amazing states gained statehood the same year I was born! Not exactly sure when it happened, but BOTH of those states were added to my list of places I really wanted to visit.

                                           Thompson Pass near Valdez, Alaska

So I have made great progress on my bucket list with Alaska.  My sister-in-law and brother- in- law live there and we have made several fun journeys there,  Then in 2014, my son moved there and has established himself there. Pretty sure he's going to stay. I tallied our trips to the state that has been pegged "The Last Frontier" and it currently stands at 6 trips. Sounds like six times would be enough, but there are so many varied things to see, that it is always a treat to see something new when we go up to see family. Plus, as long as I have family there...I will go. There are many places in Alaska I have yet to explore!

Next month I will be able to check off Hawaii, our 50th state, on my Bucket List. (Well, let's just say the Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise.)  I am so incredibly excited and everything is well planned. Yet, not too well planned...you have to have some room for spontaneity. I have always planned our own trips by myself, (and many internet searches and trips to the library), but I was really intimidated by this one. Especially coordinating flights between islands, so I enlisted the help of a travel agent and I am sure glad I did.  But time will tell how smoothly everything will go. Nothing will be absolutely the way you expect it.  I found found that in life that I need to be flexible with my expectations and reality.  Nevertheless, I am so very excited and am "pre-viewing" (via the Internet) some of the gorgeous sights that I hope to see myself.  Here are the stunning Wailua Falls in Kauai.

Gorgeous, Huh?! These serene falls were shown on the opening credits of the television show  Fantasy Island(the original from the early 80's, not the reboot.) Yes...I am old enough to remember the original with Mr. Rourke and Tattoo.  When we are there, we will have to watch for "Da' Plane....Da Plane!! "  What a heart warming show, even if is was a bit sappy. 

So I am sure that upon my return, I will have plenty to write about.

Until then...ALOHA.        Julie E. Smith