Word to the Wise

Don’t fool yourself. Don’t think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God’s fool—that’s the path to true wisdom. 1 Corinthians 3:18 (The Message)

Word to the wise: On a bad day, don’t go to your hairdresser and ask for a pixie cut. Maybe I better back up and explain. Last week was another stressful week. Perhaps even more than the last few weeks have been if that is possible. Between staff, volunteers and customers, I spent most of my time putting out fires and trying to hold things together. There were a lot of wasted time sucking minor distractions that added to some major headaches. I came to work earlier and earlier cutting my lunch breaks down to only the time I could eat a salad at my desk. In response to my stress, I did all the typical things that people do to try and make themselves feel better. If I can’t change my job, I can change my life or so I thought. I got some new clothes (though either on clearance or at Goodwill), I did some creative projects, planned new curtains for the house, bought new dishes, exercised, read a good book checked out from the library and listened to music. Some of it helped, but I was still churned up by the time a haircut appointment rolled around. It was to make up for the appointment that I missed a few weeks ago. Things were just as hectic then and I completely forgot about the appointment. I could not miss this one. I thought about it off and on all day long determined not to forget. As I did I contemplated another change. With my agitated state, I knew it would not be wise to make a radical decision, but still, its only hair isn’t it? It will grow back after all. So, when I arrived and my hairstylist said, “Just the usual trim, right?” I said, “Well, maybe not.” When I was a little girl, I had a short, short haircut called a pixie. I have had long hair for a long time because my husband doesn’t like short hair. I knew that I couldn’t get something really short, but needed to do something different. I kept thinking of a picture of me taken at a recent meeting. My long scraggly graying hair was getting a bit witch like. My hair dresser and I talked about it. I described a hair cut I had just seen on a woman at the gas station on my way to the appointment, and we agreed it might work for me. So, she proceeded to cut five inches off the back of my hair and even out the layers into a chin length bob. While you probably thought from the first line that this story would end badly, it actually has an unusually good ending. Everyone says I look ten years younger and I am very happy with my new look. So happy in fact, I think I might just go back to work with a smile on my face tomorrow! Sometimes, it is okay not to be wise!