It's ponytail time!

MY HAIR IS FINALLY LONG ENOUGH FOR A PONYTAIL!

Hey, that's big news, at least for me! It was a year-and-a-bit ago that I decided to cut off all my hair. I was sick and tired of dying it. Two seconds after the dye job, I had white roots. Ninety per cent of the time I looked like a skunk. As I got older, the dark dye I was used to using seemed too harsh against my madonna-like face. So I tried blonde, and that was just plain ridiculous. I looked like a truck stop hooker, seriously, and then the bleach over-processed my hair to the point that it broke and fell off in a big chunk. I had a bald spot on the side of my head the size of a hockey puck.

That, I thought, was freaking it. I went to the hairdresser and asked her to cut all my long hair off. All of it! I wanted to start fresh. It actually took a few military-short cuts to get rid of the dyed stuff. The last haircut I had was a year ago. Haven't had as much as a trim since. The only thing I did was cut my bangs. Saved a ton of money. No cuts. No boxes of dye. And it was liberating!

Finally, a year later, my hair is long enough for a ponytail. In another year it'll be hanging down my back and I'll be able to braid it and be that independent grey-haired woman you see in grocery stores sometimes, and envy her funky style.

All in all I'm happy with the decision to go grey. On the negative side, it definitely makes me look older, but since I'm not caught up with the ridiculous quest to be 25 for the rest of my life, that's fine with me. On the plus side, the colour is much prettier – softer – against my skin. My hair is stronger because I'm not dousing it with chemicals, and the salt and pepper look I have going on gives me beautiful streaks. Women pay lots of coin for streaks from the salon, but mine are FREE!

Sometimes, like when a friend gets a particularly great haircut and colour, or I see an actress my age with gorgeous coloured hair, I feel that temptation to cruise the Clairol aisle. It's kinda like the itch I get after I've had a few drinks and somebody lights up a cigarette – the urge never fully goes away. Don't forget, there's a ton of pressure on women these days to colour their hair. Everybody my age seems to be doing it. You hardly see any grey heads on 40 and 50 year olds. Even sixty-plus women are dying their hair in numbers like never before.

People can do what they want, of course but, for me, embracing my grey hair is a powerful and lovely thing.

Me, exactly a year ago. I had just cut my hair for the last time.

Me yesterday. Looking all ponytail perky.

My ponytail-less hair on Saturday night. We went out for dinner to the classiest joint in town (The Sawmill) with our neighbours Michelle and Gerald. The occasion? We started playing euchre with them last summer, boys against the girls, and we kept track of the number of wins for each team. At the end of 2013 the scores were tallied and the losers had to take the winners out for dinner. And guess who the winners were? The look on Dave's face pretty much says it all!!!! (Wot, is that a capital L on my beloved's handsome face???? tee hee)