Me and my piggies

Almost always I wear my hair up in two piggies on top of my head. I do it because 1: I like it. 2: It’s easy. 3: People expect me to.

I'm the one on the left.

Not a day goes by that I don’t hear comments about my hair from strangers. Most of the time it’s positive and they tell me how much they like it or love it or it’s just darling. Sometimes I can read between the lines: “I like it on you, but I could never wear it.” I’ve seen women elbowing each other and whispering and trying hard to point me out without me seeing it. This just happened this morning at Costco. Also at Costco today I heard “Is that your hair?” Sometimes women come running after me to comment on it. Women try to be more discreet than men. Men will make comments from wherever they happen to be. Sometimes I hear comments being yelled out of car windows. A couple of days ago I had three old (way older than me) women looking at my hair and talking about it as I walked toward them. One of them just couldn’t contain herself and had to ask “Are they real?” I was about to tell her ‘that’s my business’ when I realized she wasn’t talking about my boobs………..so I said yes and fluffed them up and told her she could touch them if she wanted. “How do you make them do that?” Oh I don’t make them do anything; they just do it by themselves.

I’ve heard comments from every age, race, gender. Many times, it’s the children who are impressed with my piggies. I see them tugging at their mom’s arm and saying “Mommy look at that ladies hair.” while the mom is trying to be discreet and turn them around quietly. Once at Disneyland, the little 4 year old girl in line in front of me was obsessed with me and the 4 inch Minnie Mouse scrunchies I wore on each piggie. She wouldn’t face forward no matter how her mom tried to make her. Finally, I said to her “I’m Minnie’s Mommy.” She threw her arms around my knees and hugged me as tight as she could. That was one of my favorite times. That experience made my trip to Disneyland (the happiest place on earth) more memorable than all the rest.

 

These piggies are the best for getting people to remember me. They know me, but I can’t remember them. I just hug and kiss and pretend until finally it comes to me…….or not.

Once, when walking through Nordstrom, a woman saw me and started walking toward me with her arms out and smiling. I figured ‘here we go again…….who is she?....where do I know her from?.......oh well, I’ll just give her a hug.” She got closer and closer and still I had no clue. Finally, just as my arms went out to hug her, she walked right past me to her friend who was behind me.



So my piggies are uniquely my own and I’m going to keep wearing them. Much in the same way an old woman wears purple. Who cares if they cause my daughters to cringe? ‘I am who I am’ to quote Popeye. I’ve got a great life and I’m happy. That’s what matters.

I'm the one on the right.