Yesterday I made a momentous decision. It was time. There was no doubt about it. It was time.

But why should yesterday be the day, in this time of lock-down when one day runs into another and there is little definition? What made this day different?

Well, you see, I looked in the mirror. Not a glancing look but a good look. How was I shaping up under lock-down? It wasn’t a serious thought, just a fleeting one, but the look turned into something more intense.

Was that really me? With the flowing locks and the fringe below my eyes? Okay, okay I exaggerate! But the sight was enough to stop me in my tracks.

That cartoon about mom being dad under a wild carpet of hair suddenly took on extra meaning.

So I wet my hair. Took a deep breath. Picked up a pair of scissors and …

Snip.

Snip

Snip.

My dead straight hair fell to the floor.

Oops, that was a chunk! Have to try to soften that a bit.

And how come this part of my fringe always seemed to be shorter than the rest of it, no matter which way I ‘swept’ it dramatically to either side?

This ear was showing but that ear wasn’t. The strands fell.

Still too heavy on top. Snip. Snip. That’s better.

And the back? Ah well, you see I don’t know about the back. I tried there too. Doing it by feel. No one screamed with laughter as I walked past them during my daily exercise this morning. And we have got to know one another pretty well, be-masked as we are. I wonder if I will recognise any of them when the masks can eventually come off?

Will I be brave enough never to visit a hairdresser again? No. Will I repeat the experiment? Probably if lock-down continues for another 6 weeks or so. Am I proud of my foray into the hairdressing universe? W-e-l-l … maybe not.

But I am pleased I took the step and made the first cut. Because once I had started, the biggest problem was knowing when to stop!

I now have short hair! Yes admittedly not all over, but in places. And I can see where I am going. It feels a lot lighter and so brightens my mood. (Why should heavy hair darken a mood – I have no idea but it seems to).

I am proud of myself. I took my courage in both hands. Picked up the scissors and started an adventure I will have to live with for another six weeks! Until it grows out and I do it again – or until I can visit my own hairdresser to have it all put right like a two year old who experimented with a pair of scissors.

But you know something? It’s another obstacle climbed and conquered in lock-down! Hooray!