What A Big Girl!

Yes, Sweetie certainly is a Big Girl now. But tonight - I'm talking about myself.

Example: I took Sweetie for her very first "professional" haircut this past weekend. She did great and enjoyed watching all the different TV screens around her as the stylist snipped and clipped. And in the end - she hardly looked like she got a haircut at all.

Every time I looked at her I felt more certain - her supposed "haircut" was no good. A stinkin' $19.95 (including tip) shelled out for Sweetie still to be sporting a mop top.

The length was good. It was just that the bulk of her curls was still running rampant throughout the top. More layers, more closely shaped to her head, were desperately needed to right Sweetie's tress distress.

This morning I resigned myself to the fact that I'd have to take her to a new hairdresser sometime this weekend and hand over another unreasonable amount of money for a kid haircut fix - plus tip.

But then I did something else.

I picked up the phone, called the original kiddie salon, and voiced my displeasure with the cut.

In the end, I took Sweetie back this evening, got the cut fixed, and only paid a nice tip to the nice lady. No charge! Sweet!

I'm so proud of myself for placing that call! I realized - there's no reason I should pay extra for a whole different place to fix the original hairstylist's mistake. And they did so happily - even telling me to see what her hair does after a couple shampoos and if it still isn't right - bring her back!

No that's customer service!

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Another change I've recently made- I no longer put a :) after my name when I send out emails or send cards.

This is something I've done for years. I don't know why - messages from me just don't feel complete unless I add that :). But something changed last week. I'm not sure what - and I don't mean to make this more profound than it needs to be - but I just decided it wasn't necessary. And so I stopped.

Maybe I subconsciously started tossing around this idea to eliminate the :) after I saw that Anna Nicole Smith also used to sign her name that way. That's why her satiny pink, jewel-encrusted death shroud was emblazed with both her name and a :) across its silky smooth threads.

I don't know... I'm just saying. I may have started thinking right about then that I wouldn't want my own death shroud to be similarly emblazoned. Tres tacky!

And you know what? The world hasn't ended since I stopped with the :). As far as I can tell, it hasn't even slowed down a little. All is still good and, through this small little personal act, I feel better about myself.

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Then there's my new Personal Wine Consultant job. That in and of itself makes me feel all growed up. I ordered business cards! I ordered a rubber stamp! I'm in charge of entertaining and informing people! And I'm pretty scared about that! BUT - I'm also confident that I can do it.

Yes, I'm pretty shy. Yes, I turn red if someone looks at me sideways. Yes, I write a whole heck of a lot better than I speak. Not to mention the fact that I'm physically as graceful as a duck (an animal I can relate to cuz we're both waddlers). BUT - I know I can do it. I also know it will take me a number of parties under my belt to start to feel truly comfortable in front of groups. But I'll be okay.

See, I've always gone after what I want. In HS, for instance, I didn't date anyone. I was shy, physically disabled (and therefore felt less attractive) and, oh yeah, I went to an all-girls school.

But when my Sophomore Year Semi-formal, my Junior Year Cotillion, and my Senior Prom came around - I set my sights on the boys I wanted to go with, I picked up the phone, and I straight out asked them.

I took the bull by the horns, baby! Yeah, that's right!

No, not all of the askees accepted my invitation. And it hurt. But, my Senior Prom intended did accepted and even ended up being my very first boyfriend. We dated for about a year and remained close friends for a long time after that. All because I decided to pick up the phone and ask a simple (albeit scary) question.

All this to say.... I'm really feeling like I'm finally a grown up. Finally, I'm a Big Girl now.

(I know - pretty sad for someone who's about to be 30-cough, hack, ahem years old. So what? Big deal. I'm a late bloomer, that's all)

Taking care of Sweetie's hair troubles.... ending my writing assignments with Audacity.... becoming a Personal Wine Consultant.... even helping to install a brand new computer program at work....

Yeah - I can do it. I can take care of things. I can stand up for myself and I can get things done. Go, me!

What a Big Girl Am I!