No Do-Overs In Parenting
Virgin hair is so nice... It isn’t influenced by any previous experience, it does what is expected, it’s integrity isn’t compromised, it’s basically all the things your child is before you send them off into the world! 😂 I remember thinking last year when my youngest started kindergarten she came home that first week saying things I’ve never heard before and I knew at that moment... the world got my baby. Let’s get real for a minute. I started writing this as a catchy Facebook post then I realized I had more to say on the topic. People think it’s awkward or funny when we say “oooh virgin hair!!” But it’s a real thing! Never been touched or influenced, hair. This makes my job so much easier and so much more predictable. But seriously, how many people actually have virgin hair? Not many. So we try to fight the oddities of non-virgin, challenging, hair by removing multiple colors or built up and wrongly applied color, or we just try to even the playing field and make everything one color to start from the beginning. We get a do-over. I mean sometimes it would be easier to shave it off but nonetheless, we still get a “do-over”. These are one of the many reasons why I value education so highly. I NEED to know how to tackle these problems. On the flip side, I saw many commonalities in parenting when I began to write this. Then it hit me. Last week I heard someone say “We can teach our children all things good but we will reproduce WHO we are” ouch...does that sting a little? It does for me. My girls are going to be exposed to things outside of my control, they are going to make mistakes, have to figure things out for themselves and go out into this scary world and fight the things that are built up to hold them back. Have I been teaching them how to fight? Is that WHO I am? I’d like to think yes. Yes, it’s true it seems silly for finding these realities while talking about virgin hair, but hey that’s a hairstylists brain for ya 🤷🏼♀️ What do we do you ask? Well, just as in corrective color scenarios, we take each challenge as they come. We don’t freak out. We stop in our tracks and reach into our toolbox. (Aka education) A dear friend told me recently, “Lindsey, we don’t get do-overs with our kids” that stings too... but it also holds me accountable. The reality is that there isn’t any color remover or level playing field when it comes to our littles. I just seek knowledge and roll with the punches, and pray...lots of praying! Parenting... oi vey (and I’m only in the tween stage! 🤪) What’s in your toolbox? Not a do-over.
Do you read parenting books? Do you have a counselor or therapist? Do you seek guidance from outside sources? Let’s face it, we don’t have all the answers. I am such a geek when it comes to personal development and honestly, I wish every other human were too. The only person/stylist I need to be better than was the one I was yesterday and that’s not just a cheesy slogan, it’s 💯 I was in Columbus in October for a convention, Atlanta in January for a shadow opportunity with a well known educator and my next adventure leads me to Chicago in April. I won’t stop learning and neither should you! As adults we also do not get do-overs. I leave you with this friends: this awkward, hair related, parenting, blog post: Whatever it is, seek truth, knowledge, and wisdom. And produce the kind of fruit that you want to see in the world. 💕 Here are some of my recent books I’ve downloaded and/or read lately! Leave me your absolute favorite in the comments! Girl wash your face by Rachel Hollis Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud ❤️ You are a badass by Jen Sincero Crushing it by Gary Vaynerchuk The 5 love languages by Gary Chapman Parenting from the heights by Anne Wiggins and Linda Williams Radical by David Plat
Edit: I wrote this post over a y ago and never published it. I’m not sure why but as I sit here reading it in my drafts folder I felt it no longer belonged in the drafts folder. I hope you find some encouragement, wisdom and inspiration here friends. ❤️
