Transcendental Meditation in a Salon

Don't worry... this won't be scandalous like the last time I had the urge to write a post in the salon. (you can read that HERE)

I had a two-part revelation yesterday as I sat in the salon, hair matted with dye and timer running:

All stages of a woman's life are represented right there in the salon.

AND:

At different ages, we want/need different things.

I know, this isn't ground-breaking. And maybe this revelation doesn't help me in anyway, but I think, perhaps, the shampoo girl could benefit from reading this.

I watched as the twenty-somethings were washed. They chatted about their lives/relationships/college/ jobs. Members of a common team (the young twenty-somethings), they shared and bonded over boyfriends, breakups, awful term papers and foil highlights.

I noticed that the "over 50" women, enjoyed chatting about their kids- grown or teenagers, their grandkids if they had them and their lives. They were busy with jobs, teens, extra-curriculars, kids in college and some of them, grandchildren. Again, the salon appeared to be a social experience they appeared to look forward to.

The "over 70" women, just loved to talk. About anything. They are a chatty lot. And an opinionated one. They are also pretty darned funny! It occurred to me that perhaps they live alone, or with their elderly husbands, and just long to get out of the house and have someone to talk with- even if it is a nineteen-year-old shampoo girl. They seem to enjoy that social connection and will strike up a conversation with anyone around them.

And then there's me- mother of (relatively) small children. My children are constantly talking, requiring/demanding things and attention from me. While, in my early twenties, I enjoyed the social aspect of the salon visit, it is now quiet that I crave. I enjoy catching up with my stylist and hearing about her life and updating her on my family. But, what I am really looking forward to is my thirty minutes in heaven- the place where everyone with color sits until they are done processing. I grab a magazine and read, uninterrupted. I read through my emails on my phone, actually catch up with my Words with Friends queue and sometimes read through my Kindle app on my phone. (because I am too scatterbrained when I leave the house to remember to bring the ACTUAL Kindle with me)

When my thirty minutes are up, I am called over to the sink to be washed. The shampoo girl and I exchange pleasantries, and that is where I want it to end. I want to lie my head back in the sink and enjoy the simple little pleasure of having someone wash my hair while I close my eyes and rest. Please don't talk to me. People are talking to and at me all day. When I wash my hair at home, I run a 90% chance that someone is going to either barge in with, "Sorry, Mommy, but I have to poop!" or a tale of how one child has been wronged by their sibling. Even when I remember to lock the door, I get banging on the door, shouting,miniature fingers wriggling under the door and various forms of, "Mommy! Noah won't let me....." and "Mommy! Zoe won't stop....".

Really- two to three minutes of silence while you wash my hair is all that I ask.

And I know that one day, my children won't be so needy and I will miss that about them. At that point, I will again crave the conversation of the random shampoo girl at the salon, but until then...

Take note of the social cues I am sending you. Notice the battle-weary lines and dark circles that encircle my eyes as well as the glazed over look in them. Observe the smears and stains on my shirt and pants from dirty little hands always touching me. And then, please, let me be.

Because one day, all too soon, I will be in the chair next to you eagerly wanting to tell you how my kids are grown and how much I miss having little ones around. But I will notice these things about you, and I promise- I will cast a knowing smile your way and lie back and have my hair washed in silence- so that you can enjoy it.

Conversations with Zoe

While waiting for the bus, Zoe mentioned she wanted me to take her to see the "poodle castle" (the Eiffel Tower- every time she sees a picture of it, there is a poodle in the picture, and so she thinks it is a poodle castle).

"Zoe, the Eiffel Tower is in France. That is a whole other country- really far away. We would have to cross and ocean to get there."

**gasp**

"Like, in Philadelphia!!??" (Philadelphia is 45 minutes away- but, admittedly, you have to cross a river to get there)

Later, at dinner, she randomly busted out with:

"When I was a baby, I was in your tummy? And when it was time for me to come out, you went to the dentist and he helped you get me out?"

Clearly, I am doing a FABULOUS job fulfilling that education clause in my parenting contract.

Now, I need to decide if I want to set her straight about babies (because I am afraid of more questions) or just cancel her dental appointment for April. If I don't clear it up, that could be a really awkward appointment.

Morning Alleluias*

I had to be somewhere at 9:30 this morning right after I put Zoe on the bus. Inspired by Maren, I had planned to continue on to a local park where I could get some exercise and take a walk. I like walking in scenery- not on a track or treadmill. So, imagine my disappointment as I stood at the bus stop with Noah in the pouring rain.

By the time Zoe got on the bus, the rain had stopped, but everything was really wet and it was still dark and cloudy. I ran my errand very quickly and when I finished, I decided, what the heck! Why was I going to let a little wet dirt scare me away? So, I drove to the park anyway- and I am so glad I did.

Because of the morning shower, I was the only person there (other than the park ranger who was just sitting in the parking lot in his truck). I had the entire woods and lake to myself! I started my walk with my tunes going, but the damp woods were just so beautiful, that I removed my earbuds about halfway through the walk. The sounds, sights and fragrance of spring were in the air all around.

Here is the path before me- as the trees gently curved overhead, inviting me in.

After crossing the floating bridge over the lake, I turned around to see where I had been.

When I reached this little grove of pine trees, I stopped, closed my eyes and inhaled. The sweet, damp smell of pine was so comforting. It smelled of home.

After passing the grove, the trail circled back around on itself and to the stairs and iron bridge.
After 2.3 miles, I emerged from the woods, to see my lone little car in the parking lot awaiting my return.

I climbed in, opened the sunroof, and we sat- Mathilde JuneBug and I- for a good 10 minutes and just listened and soaked in the rays of the sun which had finally made an appearance.

And then we drove away.

(30 second sound clip of the sounds around me- I had to make it into a video to embed on here, so I just added a photo from the walk)

* the title refers to Morning Alleluias for the Winter Solstice- a piece by Ron Nelson that the symphonic band played when I was in college. Great piece to listen to, a beast to play.

Our Weekend

Saturday, we watched my friend's two kids all day while they attended a funeral. They were really good kids and all the kids got a long together, for the most part, but MAN I would not want four kids! My friend's kids are 9 and 3 and my kids are 8 and 4 so they were pretty evenly matched, but when it was time to get ready for Zoe's soccer game- keeping everyone in the same room and focused while trying to accomplish the task of socks, shoes, jackets was a MAJOR feat!

Also- my friend's little boy is the male counterpart of Zoe. They are LOUD- and head-strong. Interestingly enough, my friend's daughter is Noah's female counterpart. They are hilarious together. The spent the entire time chatting with each other on their Nintendo DS and discussing Harry Potter spells. (and yelling at their younger siblings)

Noah and Lexi last Easter

Zoe and Chase

Sunday, Noah decided he was ready for his spring "cut-it-all-off" haircut.

After the haircut, we went to Allaire State Park and visited the village. The shops were open and people were walking around the village in period costumes, giving tours of some of the buildings, demonstrating the trades and providing the history of the village. The blacksmith shop was the most exciting. There was a man actually heating up metal in the fire inside and bending the metal so that the kids could see how it works. It was pretty cool!

Last night, I was cleaning up Noah's iPod Touch. We plugged it into the computer to charge and noticed that he had a lot of pictures that were taking up all the space. I went through them and deleted a bunch of duplicates he had. In the process, I found some gems. He has a Snoopy Street Fair app that has a feature where you can take pictures and add graphics. I found these pretty hilarious.

I also found a short video. I cannot explain it. I can only say, that the life of an eight-year-old must be very exciting!

I Survived the Week That Had the Potential to Send Me to the Asylum

I am sorry there have been no posts this week. It is a crazy week here. Both of my kids are on early dismissal (two hours early) all week for parent-teacher conferences, plus I had to attend the actual conferences for both children (one glowing report, one tarnished report- wanna guess which is which?), it is Dr Seuss Week at both schools which is filled with fun days like silly sock day, crazy hat day, etc. And to top it all off, both schools had book fair this week and I volunteered at one school or the other every day this week and two nights. So... I'm beat.

I did take pictures, though.

Monday was Crazy Hat Day for Noah and Wocket in My Pocket Day for Zoe:

Tuesday, Noah was supposed to "wear a readable shirt" and Zoe had Crazy Sock Day:

Wednesday, Zoe wore her favorite sneakers and Noah had "Wacky Wednesday" and was instructed to wear his clothes, backwards, inside out and all mixed up. He is wearing his shirt inside out, a t-shirt on his head, swim trunks over his jeans and Zoe's leg warmers on his arms:

Thursday ushered in Crazy Hat Day for Zoe (where I cheated and recycled Noah's hat from last year) and Silly Sock Day for Noah.

Today is Green Eggs and Ham Day for Zoe- she is supposed to wear green and Noah's school has crazy hair day where they are instructed to wear their hair in the style of a Dr Seuss character. This is the point where blonde hair works so much better for hair color- his hair is COATED with blue spray but you can barely see it. We also lathered putty and hairspray in his hair and then DJ held him upside down while I blow-dried it, but his hair is too heavy to stay standing. I don't know what it is about his hair- I have tried many times in the past to get it to stand straight up and I have always failed.