Many years ago I wiped down a steamy bathroom mirror with a towel and was amazed at how easy it was to clean a mirror that way. I told my family about it that night and Johnny dryly quipped, “Guess we don’t have to worry about women taking over the world.” There are just some things that guys seem to know–or learn–automatically. I guess wiping down a steamy mirror is one of them.

For years I’ve watched John comb all his hair forward and then comb it back into place. I never got that–until now. I still don’t know why it works, but I find that I have to do the same thing if I want my hair to lay right.

What it looks like out of the shower …and after grooming.

 

 

 

 

My hair keeps getting thicker and a little longer. Now I have to worry about bed head and hat head, washing my hair more often to keep it looking good. It’s starting to look a little shaggy and maybe starting to curl in some places. I can’t really tell yet if those are curls or what. (I am still hoping for post-chemo curls.) It is still incredibly soft so I don’t want to put products in it. I also do not want spiky hair so I’m not really sure what to do with it in the in-between stage. Even if I have to wash it more, it dries and styles quickly.

People keep telling me that I should keep it short. I’m quite relieved that it looks better than I expected at this point, but not at all sure about keeping it short. (These pictures aren’t helping much. I think it looks better in the mirror than in photos.) I’m trying to enjoy all the stages in between and just have fun with it.

Back to the guys. They seem to be able to tie ties and figure out mechanical things better than me. Sometimes they can open jars that I can’t. But there are plenty of things they don’t “get” too.

For example, John has been “mystified” (his word) the past few weeks by the focus on shopping for a wedding dress. I have found that hilarious. What could be more obvious than a bride-to-be looking for her dress during a brief time home with her mom, sisters, and friends? Suffice it to say, we’ve ignored him and carried on with our quest, which was successfully completed this week. We found “The Dress” this week, only $200 over budget (which was pretty low for starters.) We ended up finding it at the same salon where we purchased Laura’s dress eight years ago. That was kind of fun.

I’m not allowed to post pictures of the dress, of course, so here are some cropped views of Annie and the dress. Use your imagination.

 

 

Anne got her visa to return to New Zealand and work for the next twelve months but when she went to purchase her return ticket home found the prices exorbitant until February 6th.  As a result, we are enjoying a couple extra, unplanned weeks with her at home. We’ve enjoyed a lot of cold snowy days spent by the fire, reading, playing games, surfing the Internet and baking. She is also packing up her childhood and high school treasures, weeding out a lot of stuff in the process. And getting a lot of doctor’s appointments in while she is still on our insurance.

One thing we both get is that it’s nice having Anne home and these are days to savor.