When I was a little kid, I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wanted to be the beauty parlor girl.
I wanted to do all the fancy ladies’ hair in buns and beehives and poofy curls for all the balls and parties they went to. I knew I’d be good at it because my mama used to let me sit on the back of this very couch and brush out her hair, all the time. Sometimes she would even let me take her curlers out after the Dippity-Do was dry. I couldn’t mess with it too much after the rollers came out or the curls would go flat, but it was so much fun anyway. Her hair always smelled so good.
One year for Christmas I got a real beauty parlor doll that I could practice on. In fact, before I was out of my pajamas that morning I already had that dolly’s hair in the sink for a good scrub. Everybody knows that’s the first thing that happens when you’re at a real beauty parlor.
Mama said, “Oh, you’re washing all her curls out so soon?”
But Daddy said, “Aww let her go. That’s what the doll’s for.”
I knew I was going to put the curls right back. And I did, a million times over.
I know I brushed that doll’s hair within an inch of it’s life and sprayed so much Aqua-Net that it ran in her eyes. My hands we sticky for days. I used up a bucket of Dippity-do. Of course, Mama’s rollers and her brush and comb worked better than the pretend ones–so naturally, I borrowed them too. If I used too much stuff on the doll’s hair, it gave me an excuse to dunk her in the sink and shampoo her all over again. I don’t really think mama thought that part of the deal through, but she was sure patient about it.
To my surprise, the doll started to smell just like…my mama.
I loved it.
I looked it up the other day and do you know—that doll with all it’s fancy-schmancy beauty parlor stuff–the chair, the curlers, the play hair dryer and everything cost a whopping $9.95?
Considering my mama got $25 dollars a month for groceries–that was a pretty pricey doll.
I wonder if she was counting on all the free hair cuts and styles she’d be getting from me someday, so then it would hopefully all be worth it.
Yeah. Sorry about that Mom.
I sure love you.
