37


happy john, originally uploaded by pilgrimgirl.

Yesterday morning I heard a wild scream from John, who was standing at the bathroom sink.

“Blaaayeeaaahhhhh!”

He ran to where I was sitting, his hands on his head (me, I was having flashbacks to the incident where he sliced his temple open on a nail, wondering what accident had befallen him).

“Look!”, he said pointing the the side of his head.

“Look!” he exclaimed again, leaning in closely.

I saw no blood, only his slightly damp recently gelled curly locks. But lo and behold, there was some gray hiding there. Searching around in his hair I found four gray ones, standing out in bright contrast against the black.

I suppose that’s John’s body’s way of wishing him a happy birthday. Tomorrow he celebrates his 37 years of life. Having been along for the past 18 of those years, I can say that I’m sure looking forward to another 4 or 5 decades with this lovely man.

Note: this is one of my fav pics of John. It’s not his favorite, but I just love how sincere and sweet his smile is here….

7 thoughts on “37

  1. C. L. Hanson

    Wow, I am at exactly the same point!!!

    I’m 36 (tragically goin’ on 37), and have just started finding a few stray white hairs in stark contrast to my usual dark brown. And despite any past laughing at vanity, I’m catching myself wondering about how hair coloring works and looking a little more closely at all those (ick, dare I say it?) wrinkle creams…

    One of my friends who colors her hair was telling me about how she is starting to think about just letting it go gray, following the example of a friend of hers. She was telling me about how she wants to transition from being an “old young woman” to a “young old woman.” 😀

    That’s basically where I’m at myself. In Bordeaux, I was living in a university neighborhood where it was starkly clear to me that I’m not one of the kids anymore (which is okay). This is reflected in my writing all over the place, see here for example. In my mind, I’ve already moved on to being “young old woman” at least to some degree, even if it’s a bit of a fight all the way…. ;^)

    On a partially related note, the photos you guys have been posting of your family and romance have been so charming!!! 😀

  2. saraarts

    Grey hair is very, very sexy. A third of my true love’s gorgeous locks were already grey when we met, and he was only 27 at the time.

    He has more now. I take some credit for that. 😉 Notice I say “credit” not “blame.” This is because I think it’s spectacularly beautiful, utterly fondle-worthy, and really amps up his overall handsomeness, especially when we dress up. Looks fantastic with his silver jewelry and posh watches, too.

    Happy birthday, John! Remember, it’s never too soon to become a silver fox. 🙂

  3. lma

    Jana…Next time John complains about finding gray hairs, just remind him that there are some of us out here who never, ever thought that Richard Gere was even a little bit attractive until he went gray. 😀

  4. JohnR

    Jana is doing what we around here call “making interesting.” I take great pride in my gray hairs. In fact, I had a strange co-worker who used to try to pluck my one or two strands out because I refused to do so. What Jana’s post doesn’t convey is the kind of wondering amazement I felt at finding a half-dozen instead of the usual 2-3 gray hairs. It was almost a full-on streak!

    But thank you saraarts and lma for the encouragement. I’m more discouraged by the aching and cracking bones that seem to be more common as of late.

    chanson, your description captures perfectly some of the feelings I’ve had for the past few years–from old young to young old, indeed!

  5. daisies

    Happy Birthday John 🙂

    I think this is a super cute photo!! I found a few greys this summer and was ecstatic (i’m weird that way) but alas there is not enough to even really show yet … i too can’t wait for the full on streak!!

  6. Rich

    Late to the party as usual — happy belated B-day John!

    At 51, my whiskers are now about 50/50 gray (if I let them grow); fortunately the few grays at my temples blend pretty good with the blond. My 86-y.o. pop is still not fully gray. Dankbar for some good genes…

    Anyway, congrats on being a happy (and very cute) family!

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