A Girlfriend Intervention – A Hairy One?

At times, the only thing separating me from looking like a dweeb all day is my friend Kelly.

I suspected something was amiss when Kelly placed a steaming mug of heavenly lemongrass tea in front of me and smiled, “Here ya go!”

“Thank you,” I said with a smile. Kelly stocked lemongrass tea in her pantry just for me. She is someone who does the little things to make a friend feel important.

Then it happened; something that would occur only between two very good girlfriends.

“Tracy? Um, I love ya darlin’ and think you are beautiful, but did you know you have a one-inch black hair growing out of your neck?” Kelly asked without mincing words.

Although I had not even finished squeezing my tea bag before she mentioned “the hair”, she kindly refrained from staring at my neck and kept her eyes trained on mine.

“Where?” I asked as my hand instinctively darted to my neck.

“On the left, just under your jaw…it’s an impressive one.”

“Oh my gawd, I wonder how long it’s been there? How have I been walking around and not noticed it?” I groaned.

“Don’t know, I just noticed it and I saw you two days ago. That’s one fast-growing hair.”

“I need t— ,” I started to say.

“Take these,” she interrupted as she handed me a pair of tweezers. She knew what I needed— again.

I hurried to the bathroom, peered into the mirror, and plucked the dreaded hair. It was about an inch long; but strangely enough, as I threw the hair into the garbage I felt I was throwing part of my youth away with it.

“Isn’t it great being over 35?” Kelly yelled as if to read my mind while I circled back down the hallway.

“Some things are great, but a long black hair in the neck thing? No!” I answered as felt around my neck, searching carefully for any more unwelcome hairs.

“At least we don’t have hair growing out our noses like men do,” I joked. And we both snorted with laughter.

“True,” Kelly mused, with one eyebrow raised in thought. “But I have hair growing in places it wasn’t before, and hair disappearing from places where it dwelled before.  Did you know my hairdresser trims my eyebrows now while he is cutting my hair?”

“It’s not just about the hair,” I said, doubling down on revelations.  “I need a pull-up bra instead of a push-up bra these days,” and then I sat up straight with my shoulders pulled back to raise my chest up a little. Kelly almost spit out her tea with that comment but raised her chest up in agreement.

By now we were both laughing and I could feel each disclosure strengthen our bond.

Kelly smiled and began studying my face…very slowly. I thought she was going to point out another wayward hair but instead she said:

“I guess we’re just getting older. I wouldn’t want to get older without you by my side to laugh about it all,” Kelly stated as she held out her tea mug for a ceremonial-style clink.

“Hey, that’s what girlfriends are for,” I said.  And it is so true.  There’s nothing like women bonding to face life’s curve-balls together.