June 13, 2006

coming down

i'm coming off the steroids. tomorrow's the last pill. that means i'm miserable. and manic. i took the daughter out today to get her hair fixed up. it was going to be some simple braiding, but nothing hair related in the ATL is simple when you're the mom of a mixed kid with a black woman doing her hair at XYZ salon.

it's always a ride, it's always a dance, a sideways glance, a sizing up ritual so she can figure out if i'm one of those mothers of bratty, tender-headed beige girls who hacks all the baby's hair off because I'm lame or lazy (i'm not), or one who doesn't moisturize (i do), or one who knows how to braid (suck at it), or knows the difference between texturizer and relaxer (i do), or what. Plus they never ask where her daddy's at even though they want to.

listen, it's like that.

yesterday i drove around for two hours looking for a place to cut and braid my little-miss-swimsuit's hair for at least part of the summer. that was my three steroid day. i wasn't really coming down yet--i was still in my productive, get-it-done mode.

except we didn't get it done because no one was open except the middle eastern salon and they didn't want to know about my kid's hair when we walked in. And then out.

So today i got hold of a woman who said she'd cut and braid it, and jenna's hair's never been this bad, but something about this year's pool or about her changing hormones or aging or whatever has made her hair completely crazy, unmanageable, uncombable, matted, out of countrol -- no matter how much pre or post conditioning i do.

so we go in at 4 and i'll have you know we got out at midnight.

mid-fucking-night. because i got had is what i did, and my kid now has a full hairweave, a set of my god there must be fifty braids and weaved bangs, and i don't recognize her at all, put her on TV and let's call it a day, and how the hell is this going to help with swimming like i told the woman i wanted, but she smiled after she got paid for spending 8 hours on my kid's hair.

i wish i lived in idaho.


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