Making Mary beautiful one last time

David called on Thursday to request an appointment for his mother Mary who was in pallative care in his home. He wanted to get her a haircut to make her feel better. I offered Monday and he said that he'd rather not wait that long, so I came two days later on Saturday morning at 9:00.
I was nervous, not sure how I would react to the sadness I was already feeling towards a woman I had never known. To know that you are giving someone a haircut for the last time in their life is terribly sad. Early Saturday morning I went to the gym to clear my mind, to charge my energy and strength ... to prepare.
When I arrived, David met me at the door with a cheery spirit and a light heartedness and all my fears fell away. He was a funny guy, the kind of person everyone likes to be around.
He led me into the room where Mary was sitting. She smiled, she had those eyes that danced and although she was frail, I would not have known she was near death.
I washed her hair, massaged her head and then gave her a lovely pixie cut. David chatted away, keeping the air light. When I finished her hair, David walked over and kissed his mother and told her that she looked beautiful. She was lucky to have him.
Before I left I gave Mary a lollipop and a hug. She smiled and I knew she felt as good as she possibly could.
Two weeks passed and I received an email from David and this is what it said

Hi Kimberly

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you.

Mom passed away the next Monday after your hair visit.

" I can't tell you enough how great I feel" mom said after you left.

I really appreciate how you made her feel and laugh. She said it was an awesome hair cut.

Thanks again

Sad things can also be beautiful!

There are people and then there are people who change the world

 ... Karen Meredith Blott is one of these people.
I met this woman two years ago. She had three children at the time and had seen my business cards at a children's centre and called for haircuts. Lovely woman, engaging, energetic, kind, generous, beautiful and incredibly intelligent. I don't know what we talked about that first visit but I left feeling inspired.
She is one of those people.
Two years later their fourth child Conrad is born with Downs Syndrome and their world takes on a new and wonderful world.
In one year since Conrad was born, Karen has founded Circle 21 born out of the need for more resources and support for families and children with DS. Circle 21 focuses on health, education, employment, independent living, and peer-support-networks. While many organizations work hard at the local level to help people with DS, Circle 21 adds national and global resources, working with government, corporations, non-profits and others to coordinate significant, positive changes in the systems that support those with DS and their families.
On March 21, 2012 in Celebration of  World Down Syndrome Day, Circle 21 holds their first ever event and it is wonderful. The room is filled with family and friends and there is lots of love and warmth. It is not like being at any other event. There is a young band playing, there are young adults with DS serving lovely appetizers and their artwork is part of a silent auction.
I am looking at the silent auction items when a beautiful picture of a bird catches my eye and I think of my mother-in-law and how much she would love this ... and then I notice Nicole, the artist who is standing their watching me, clearly proud of what she has accomplished. And so we chat and she tells me where she took the photo and about her life and it is all so very beautiful.
The rest of night was much like this, a night of empowerment not only for families and children with DS but for everyone who was there. My favorite words of the night was when Karen says "Conrad has taught me that a whole new world of perfect exists".
There are people and then there are people who change the world!

Are you living your dream?

Not long ago I was having wine with a girlfriend and during the evening she told me a story about a conversation she had recently with her husband and how she had said to him "are you living your dream because I am".
Wow, are you living your dream? Think about it!
These are some powerful, beautiful and possibly sad words.
Before three years ago I may not have replied yes. I had been searching for what I wanted for myself in life. I had been on this journey for many years, trying lots of things and being good at most of them but not great or maybe a more accurate word is passionate.
I wasn't unhappy and I've always felt lucky but I wanted something for me.
And then one day it happened. I was having wine, yes more wine with a different friend while 6 kids ran around waiting for their turn for a haircut ... And the idea of bringing haircuts to others in their home came to me. A couple nights later I mentioned it to my husband and he agreed it had potential and thus Haircuts on Wheels was born.
Before this moment, I had been letting life lead me. I had no goals, no dreams. Imagine!
We all need goals and dreams. I didn't know this.
A dream gets you excited,brings you beyond your immediate world and makes you passionate. Have you ever felt passionate about something. It is one of the best feelings ever. It wakes me up
in the night, it makes me exercise harder, sing louder, because it feeds my energy.
Find your passion, dream, make a plan and set goals.
Only you can create your dream! And then live it!!!

"I thought you would be ugly and old".

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.