Hair.

So, my hair was growing a bit on the sides that I did not like.  So I went into my cabinet in the bathroom and took out my electric clippers and started shearing.

Well, if you were a client of mine last Wednesday, you would have seen some pretty messed up patches on the side of my head.  Or maybe not--I worked very hard to try to keep my head faced forward.  How screwy is that??

I am not a hairstylist/barber.  I am a therapist.  I know (intellectually) that I have limitations.  But still, with those electric clippers in my hand, I was powerful. 

Or so I thought.

I looked at myself in the mirror--with another mirror at a screwy angle--and I knew that I messed up my hair.  It was beyond embarrassing.   There was a strip on both sides of my scalp that were sheared and were uneven.  And there was a patch on the right side of my scalp that was virtually naked---come on, Jeff--you can’t get a haircut from a professional?

So I went to Great Clips on University, confessd my sins and asked for forgiveness.  The woman cutting my hair jokingly asked me if I was trying to take away her job--I replied that I was not. 

But as she was repairing me, I was laughing.   None of this was life threatening--it was just hair.  How stuck do we get on appearances?  When I was with my clients that day were they concerned that I could not deliver because I had a patch missing from the side of my scalp?  Doubtful.

But was I concerned that I could not deliver?  Maybe. 

Everything is fixable.

Rejoice.

I am ashamed of myself.

Today is August 15, 2010.  This is a special day for my family and we forgot.

This is the day we picked up our daughter, Maya, from UMDNJ Hospital and welcomed her into our family.  Or, rather, she welcomed us.

Why or how could we forget?  Because of the chaos surrounding her adoption, which I have already written about.   That’s how I reason this.  Not a great excuse.

How often do we forget those special dates because of outside interferences?  The first time we met?  The first date?  The first time we made love?  The first time we said “I love you”?

Don’t let the craziness of the world get in the way of your joy.  If there is a date that resonates with you, then CELEBRATE it!  You don’t have to have a significant other, or have a child--if this is the day you gave up smoking or drinking, or if this is the day you said to yourself that you would treat yourself better, then rejoice. 

Rejoice.  It’s a pretty cool feeling.