As I approach the 4 storey building, I am wondering what Marion is like and Brian ... her son who booked the hair appointment. I do know that Marion is 92 years old and fairly mobile for her age but not enough to make the journey down her 4 flights of stairs and into a car to go to a salon. This is why I am here.
I knock and Brian opens the door. I smile and say "hello, my name is Kimberly." Brian returns the greeting and says "I just want to warn you that my mother isn't happy that you're coming here. She wants to go to her own salon, to her own stylist she's had for 30 years." As he speaks I can see Marion sitting on her couch at the end of the long dark hallway. I smile, I've heard this before and I assure him "we'll be just fine".
I walk into the room and she has long, long, long white hair that is tied up with a tattered, red ribbon. I instantly know I will love her and then she says ... "well, I expected someone ugly and old" and I burst into laughter.
And this is how the next hour went as we discussed a "new" style, something that suited the shape of her face and her lifestyle. She told me great stories of her life, of how she use to dance and she would break out into song every once in awhile. Marion was so full of energy, her eyes sparkling. I had wished that I had a magic wand that I could have waved and made her body young again so that she could dance.
She spoke of how she only had one son and he was wonderful to her and he was. She was very lucky.
When I finished I asked her if I could take her picture to put on my website. She didn't understand what I meant but she didn't want me to take it. Even though she loved her new look, she did not feel beautiful enough to have her picture taken.
This made me sad. Had I failed? We had so much fun, she really did look amazing and she was beautiful but she could not see this.
As I drove home I decided that I had not failed and that this was just a reminder to me of how fragile the human spirit really is.
I knock and Brian opens the door. I smile and say "hello, my name is Kimberly." Brian returns the greeting and says "I just want to warn you that my mother isn't happy that you're coming here. She wants to go to her own salon, to her own stylist she's had for 30 years." As he speaks I can see Marion sitting on her couch at the end of the long dark hallway. I smile, I've heard this before and I assure him "we'll be just fine".
I walk into the room and she has long, long, long white hair that is tied up with a tattered, red ribbon. I instantly know I will love her and then she says ... "well, I expected someone ugly and old" and I burst into laughter.
And this is how the next hour went as we discussed a "new" style, something that suited the shape of her face and her lifestyle. She told me great stories of her life, of how she use to dance and she would break out into song every once in awhile. Marion was so full of energy, her eyes sparkling. I had wished that I had a magic wand that I could have waved and made her body young again so that she could dance.
She spoke of how she only had one son and he was wonderful to her and he was. She was very lucky.
When I finished I asked her if I could take her picture to put on my website. She didn't understand what I meant but she didn't want me to take it. Even though she loved her new look, she did not feel beautiful enough to have her picture taken.
This made me sad. Had I failed? We had so much fun, she really did look amazing and she was beautiful but she could not see this.
As I drove home I decided that I had not failed and that this was just a reminder to me of how fragile the human spirit really is.
