The Secret

I have been waiting for years for this moment.

But, before I tell you exactly what has happened, I need to give you a little background.

I highly admire both my Grandmothers (they are both gone now). Grammy, my maternal grandmother, was a kick. She had shocking white hair that was never out of place. She ALWAYS wore high heels. In her 60's her job was driving a semi-truck across the United States - hauling oranges, onions, etc....in her heels, no less (and much to my Mother's consternation, was dating an ex-con during that time). She was an outspoken Democrat who ran for Montana senate and lobbied for Senior Citizens.

My paternal Grandma Thelma couldn't have been more different. She was the heart of our family ranch. She cooked sourdough waffles every morning, had jars full of cookies at all times, cooked for hired hands, handled all the accounting, collected any and all things of interest to local history..... it goes on and on. She liked her position of power just as well as Grammy did, except she wielded her power from behind the scenes.

Not many people are lucky enough to be raised around such powerful, intelligent women. And to see it from both sides is something that had deeply affected my life.

Grammy would stand on her head for at least one minute every day. You could walk into a room and see her perfectly straight and rigid form, heeled feet perfectly pointing at the ceiling. After a few moments, she would slowly return to the upright, pat her coif of white, and continue with her life as if nothing strange had happened.

Grandma was not quite as healthy or active. She had bad knees and used a wheelchair at the end of her life to do the majority of moving around for her. When I lived with her in my early 20's it was one of my greatest pleasures to comb out her waist length white hair. She would sit and tell me stories as I combed, then braided, and wound the braid into a bun, just like she liked it. With her hair down she looked so different. It was such a private thing to see her like that.

I found my first white hair two days ago.

I have secretly and fervently prayed to all the deities that I know for years that I would have white hair like my grandmothers'. My Dad had grey hair. My Mom has grey hair. I was worried.

But it's white. Shockingly, glaringly, unapologetically white.

And I am thrilled.