Hey, you know me and I don't color my hair! Okay, I probably would color my hair if the grey were more obvious and less like silvery gold strands. And if I ever thought about it before making a hair appointment. And if I ever got my hair cut. And if...

(Actually, I did get my hair cut recently -- it's just under my ears now!)

And you know me, and I don't color my hair. Yet. ;-)

Actually, it's funny, because it's only recently, since just before I turned 40, that I've been getting the same comments from hairdressers, about my gray strands, which have become more plentiful. For now, though, I'm leaving it as is. Not because I'm so strong and committed to my self-image, etc., but because when I was in my 20s I still had blonde hair, and in the last 20 years it's darkened to this awful mousy brown that I have, and I remember when my mom went gray with a previously similar colored hair, it was actually spectacular. It looked like the best highlight job around, for several years...

Okay, perhaps I exaggerated just a trifle (though Diane, you don't count anymore as an Angelino, y'know). But dyeing is definitely the majority. TC, I liked my gray too, to a certain point. And I may again after it gets more dominant. It felt like an odd in between stage recently. I like the dark right now, though it still feels unexpected in the mirror.

Even here in far-off-edge-of-the-world-basically-quiet Nova Scotia, almost everyone I know colors their hair. Even some men. And especially most of my students--whose average age is 20 to 25. If it makes you feel better about yourself, why not! People have been doing it for centuries and centuries. I don’t think of it any differently than wearing a bra—not exactly necessary, just makes for a better body shape. From my point of view, life is too short not to enjoy your body.

And you know me, and I...dye the hell out of my hair. Never mind. But I've been dying it since I was 18, a few years before the grey started showing up. Now, however, my roots are so spectacularly grey that I couldn't stop unless I decided that I wanted to be a 39 year old Mrs. Santa.