As Freddie and I were finishing our packing, he made a request. “Please, when we are in Spain,” he asked me, “will you let your hair grow grey to match mine?” Already fifty-four years old, I had been tinting my hair to make the fading brown color more vibrant, although I had meticulously left the streaks of bright white that had replaced what used to be natural red highlights in my hair. I didn’t want to hide my age but I didn’t like the faded brown look. Freddie would turn sixty in Spain. I was thrilled with the idea of matching him and having less time and energy wasted on my hair. I wanted to focus on dance and not conventional “beauty.”
“Okay,” I answered Freddie, actually relieved. I never enjoyed going to a hairdresser and having chemicals put into my hair. It felt polluting. And I loved that Freddie loved me for just who and how I was.
©2023 Marianna Mejia
Marianna Mejia 
Once again, Marianna, you have delighted me with these too short snippets into your story. I, too, went thru the growing out phase of my long dyed hair and was super relieved to never look back, but enjoy my greyness! We women become beautiful with age , and not hiding it, gives us strength to embrace the unknown. 💕
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