Hair

[kaizen]

I'm about to go back to a good hairdresser that I haven't been to since my mother moved into Assisted Living 2 1/2 years ago.

It was partly a financial decision to stop going there, because my income went down at that point. (I had previously been her paid caregiver.) But it was also because life got chaotic, and I was overwhelmed with my mother's demands and anger for a long while. I just didn't have the head space to deal with hair. It was all about dealing with things that were coming at me every day. I remember feeling like someone cowering in a corner, being bombarded with tennis balls from all directions.

For about the first year she was at the ALF, I didn't get my hair cut at all. I just kept it up in a ponytail all the time. Then, I started getting a trim once in a while, at a franchise hair salon that had a senior discount. I stuck with a simple cut that was hard to mess up, because you get a different hairdresser every time and some of them are very young and inexperienced. Recently I decided I wanted to get a layered cut, and start coloring it again. So I thought of my old hairdresser.

I feel like I can afford it now, but not because our income went up. I've finally had a chance to think about our finances more and make some adjustments. It's taken this long to have the head space to do much more than make sure bills get paid, taxes get done and checks don't bounce. It wasn't a matter of having enough time, it was that there was a limit to how much I could mentally focus on.

I guess I'm writing this because it feels like progress. All the things I've learned about PDs, the little things I've tried, are starting to snowball and have a real effect on my qualify of life. Maybe someday I'll actually have something to post in the Future Goals topic. It's been hard to think very far ahead; my main goal right now is just to outlive my mother, lol.

[Spygirl]

Very happy for you!

Its nice for you to get in the self care you need. Bravo for hanging in with a difficult situation.

[athene1399]

I think it's great you are able to go to a salon now. You deserve to do something nice for yourself.