let me sing you the song of my tribe . . .

of curly haired red heads.

little red.  carrot top.  red on the head.  ginger.  freckle face.  i've heard them all.  my hair has gone from fire engine red ringlets so tight my mother couldn't get a comb through them to stick straight mahogany and every shade in between.  thankfully, stick straight was in in the 60's.  i had no interest in the 'big hair' of the 80's, mine was happily sit.down.upon.able.

and then kidlet arrived and brought with her a four inch wide shock of wave in the back.  as she reached her teens, most of the back was awash in curls . . . nothing a blow dryer and brush couldn't handle but then she reached her mid twenties . . .  see how i am blaming her . . . the curl could no longer be tamed.  enter 1.5 inch curling iron . . . yes, i straighten my hair with a curling iron.  really.  it works.  or used to.  she is now 27 and my hair is a frizzy mess and not so very red any more.  beach waves are in now, lucky me.  so i decided to stop fighting nature and bought some spray to enhance the curl.  the look?  not so much.  and did i mention that the first two inches back from my forehead are stick straight, like the rebels last stand?

i finally took inventory.  in the past couple of months, my hair product collection has multiplied faster than the occupants of a rabbit hutch.  there's my ever trusty curling iron, a flat iron and now a bedhead rock and roller.  there's anti frizz shampoo and cream rinse, nourishing shampoo and cream rinse in case my hair needs a break, texturizer, smoothing gel, heat guard, beach wave spray, argon oil, coconut oil, hemp paste . . . the shelf is overflowing.  so is my hair.  it's like i am fertilizing a bush.  good thing i am growing it long and can now put it up which brings up my new collection of pins, clips, screws, bands, scrunchies, and hats.  if all else fails, wear a hat even if it is 98• out.

thursday night i went out to enjoy some adult company and it only took five products, a dryer and a curling wand to tame the monster and it stayed tame the next day.  this morning however, we walked in the mist.  two minutes later, the amount of hair on my head tripled in size and volume. curled up as if miniature seizures had taken hold of each and every strand.  i gave up, washed it and let it dry au natural.

i give up.

red headed curls and a face full of freckles.  that's my lot.  i will sing the song of my tribe and embrace my differences.  life is good.  and curly.