This was crazy. I was sitting in a barber chair; the same chair that my son had sat in earlier this morning before I dropped him off for school; the same chair that my husband sat in every third Saturday for his usual flattop. And I was asking their barber, Betty for advice on my hair.

Betty had been the family barber since we moved here 5 years ago. She had been the one who talked my husband into a flattop after I had mentioned it to her that I liked a clean cut look on my man. I had thanked her quite often because my husband looked so handsome now! She had done a good job on my son and had made it to where he actually enjoyed getting his haircut.

Now it was 6 pm and she had closed shop. I had called earlier in the day because I had left my PDA at the shop and would have to pick it up on the way home. It was just me and Betty. Over the last few months I had really been stressing. My business had taken off and I was always strapped for time. So much so that my hair had gotten way out of control. It had been nearly 9 months since I had even had a trim by my regular stylist and getting an appointment was next to impossible with my schedule being the way it was. Betty had noticed how stressed I was and asked me to sit down and talk a while as she locked up the shop. The topic of hair had come up and I almost started to cry. I looked awful and I just did not have the time to mess with my hair like I used to.

?Sounds to me like you are way too busy!? Betty stated as she asked me to sit in the barber chair. She started massaging my neck and shoulders and I did not realize how tense I was. The massage felt good and I almost fell asleep when she stopped and went into the back to get my PDA. When she handed it to me I thanked her and that is when I asked her for advice about my hair. It was long and for the most part I had been wearing it pulled back in a pony tail. The blonde highlights had long ago faded and gray hairs had been showing through. It was time for a change, a drastic change. That is when I asked her.

?What do you think, Betty should I just cut it all off?? Betty looked at me, surprised but with a smile she told me I should. That was just the push I needed and I asked her if she would cut it for me. She agreed and asked me how I wanted it cut. There were no women?s magazines to look at, just a few haircutting books, mostly with men?s styles. ?I?m open for suggestions? I told her and she told me she had a good idea if I would just trust her. Trust a barber who mainly cuts men?s hair to give me a drastic haircut; easier said than done.

She shampooed my hair and I found myself sitting in the barber chair with a tissue around my neck and the big black cape fastened tightly around my neck. She combed my hair back into a pony tail and cut the whole thing off with scissors! She then made a part line around the top of my head and pinned that hair up. Within seconds I heard the familiar pop of the clippers she used on my husband and soon and she was shaving the back and sides of my head with the clippers all the way up to the part line! Within minutes of taking off most of my hair on the sides and in the back she took the pins out of the top of my hair and started cutting the top very short with scissors. I closed my eyes and could feel my head getting lighter and the stress leaving my back and shoulders. The edging trimmers tickled me as she shaved V?s into my sideburns and tapered the back. When I opened my eyes I was staring at a very short haircut! It was almost a flattop but not quite. The top was much longer than my husbands and the sides were not bald like my husband?s. It was short but feminine and it made me look about ten years younger. She placed some gel in it and spiked it out for me.

I sat there for a moment and Betty asked me ?what do you think?? Thoughts were swimming through my mind. In less than thirty minutes I had lost almost all of my hair. What would my husband think? No turning back now. I looked at myself from all angles with the mirror she gave me. It looked good. And it felt so light and soft.

The encounter with my husband would be the real test. I was nervous as I walked in the door and the look of shock on his face was kind of funny. ?What do you think?? I asked as I posed for him and held my hands up to my head. He smiled and asked me to turn around. A hug, a kiss and a ?you look incredible!? was all that it took to convince me this was a good decision!