one-way for luck

Last week I was in my room, doing lovely quiet things like reading and flipping through catalogs, when I suddenly thought, “I need to change the part in my hair!” This thought was strong and brooked no argument; of course I needed to change the part in my hair! Of course I would get on that right away! I was compelled to do it.

I, with my abundant head of hair, was suddenly worried about breakage and a possible bald spot stemming from having the same part for at least twenty years. I was suddenly so sick of the left side of my head, which seems to be flatter than the right side, resulting in hair that couldn’t be pinned back so prettily as on the right side. I figured that shoving all of the hair from the right over to the left would solve both of those problems.

I started the process on Sunday. My hair had been parted on the left for such a long time that I had to pin it down after I finally got it parted on the right. When I took the pins out before bed on Sunday night, I felt that ache in my scalp, usually reserved for when you have your ponytail too high and too tight. I took a shower and carefully combed in a non-existent part back on the right.

Since then, it’s gotten easier, and I look different enough to please myself, even though no one else has noticed. My hair appears to be longer now, though of course it isn’t. My highlights, which are usually year-round, have been buried under the darker hair that has been unearthed with the part-change. It is really hard to brush my hair now, because I have to go against what my arm has been trained to do AND what my hair has been trained to do. And now my hair is flopping forward into my face instead of naturally getting out of my face, because I flipped it, and what it thinks is the back of my head is actually the front.

Anyway. I changed the part in my hair.