Something A Little Light-Hearted

Something A Little Light-Hearted

Mum does like having her hair done. Not by a hairdresser in a salon, she just enjoys having her hair combed.

When I was little, I also loved my Grandma combing and plaiting my hair; I could stand it for hours! She would make three plaits for me, and then plait those three braids into one long one, and send me off happily, thinking she had done a good job for the day.

NOT SO!  I would disappear for what I thought was quite an acceptable length of time - 10 minutes, probably, max - and then I'd quickly undo the plaits; presently, I would seek Grandma out, and with the ribbons in my hand, and my most innocent face on, say: "They just came out! Grandma, can you do them again for me?!"

Not for a second was my Grandma taken in, but she was always willing to sit down with me once more, and treat me to a second hairdressing session.

Since she came to live with us, for a long while I asked a professional hairdresser to come round to cut Mum's hair; she made a lovely job of it, giving Mum a feathery cut, that looked really pretty.  However, after a while - ever since Mum has had to be hoisted - when the carers were not present, it became difficult to get Mum onto the glider, so that she could be wheeled into the bathroom for her hair-do; gradually, these visits stopped.

Not having had her hair cut for several months, Mum's hair grew quite a bit; it was a gorgeous silver colour, and one day, inspiration hit me.

I said, "Would you like me to plait your hair?"

"Oh, that's a good idea!" said Mum.

Armed with a comb and a couple of hair clips, I discovered I could still plait hair just like my Grandma, and Mum ended up with a rather short plait, that I pinned up at the back of her head. With a gentle wave at the front, she looked really pretty; and so it has continued. Nearly a year later, Mum's hair has grown longer, and now it's even easier to work with.

Mum's carers also have some brilliant ideas of their own, to style it in different ways.

The photo below doesn't quite do the style justice, but Shannon put Mum's hair into bunches, and we all commented on how pretty Mum looked! It takes years off her, and Mum enjoys every minute of the attention she gets.

Hair by Shannon