Day 26

February 9, 2015
Headbands
Day 26: Headbands

Long hair has always been a trait that I’ve come to admire in a woman. There’s something about those long flowing locks that seem to hypnotize me. And as we’ve already covered, Ann’s hair was one of the very first things I noticed about her, but long hair comes with a price.

Mind you, I had dated and had some serious relationships before I met Ann, but until you actually live with a woman, a man really doesn’t realize how much a woman puts into it all. So, I’d like any single or recently attached men reading this to pay close attention to what comes next…

Outside of a woman’s nails, one of the most maintained aspects of a woman’s character is her hair. There are countless trips to her favorite stylist and in some cases she’ll simply take up the cause on her own. The products that are purchased for ensuring a healthy display range from shampoos, conditioners, clips, coloring kits, brushes of every faction, hats, styling products and my ultimate favorite, headbands.

This list is far from complete and out of respect for your time I’m keeping it short, however, expect well over a couple of hundred items relating to such upkeep to come through your home. I do believe it’s important to note that all this effort goes into solidifying self-confidence, but more importantly; all this is being done for you… so if you ever complain, here are a couple things Ann would say that may make you think twice about speaking without thinking. “Cutting your nose isn’t a good look for you,” and “A happy wife makes for a happy life.”

Yes, my favorite accessory is the headband. It used to be these chopstick like sticks that she’d put in her hair to keep her up in a pseudo bun. She wore them all the time when we first met. One thing I learned in the beginning about someone having long hair is that sometimes it’s a pain and just needs to be put up. I never knew that long hair could be a cause of frustration, forever getting in their face, whipping up and shacking out all the hard work that was just recently put into it all because the weather was bad or the humidity decided to be rambunctious that day.

Once the girls were born, Ann moved to black, cotton headbands. They seemed to be a quick and dirty way for her to alleviate any distractions. She has a ritual when buying a new pack of them. She’ll take one, stretch it out like a sweater that’s about to be worn, but tumbled around in the dryer for too long. Then she’ll grab her hair and twirl the catch around twice, seamlessly lifting it all into a twisted ball. She’ll take the headband and quickly double loop it around, kind of like watching calf roping without all the cruelty of course.

I always wanted to know why a woman would put her hair up and then an hour or two later would let it all down again. I used to think they did it because of insecurity. Boy was I wrong! I notice patterns. It’s just something that comes natural for me. I can remember seeing Ann putting her hair up and a few hours later, her hair would come down. I finally asked why this was happening and what she told me I never forgot. A woman puts her hair up for all the reasons I stated before and sometimes it’s just more comfortable. But, there’s a price to pay in having your hair up… you can get a headache.

So in honor of every strand, I present this headband. Every time I see a headband now, I can see her thinking of me. I can see moments of comfort and ease fall upon her and most importantly, I see her, just as unconditionally as I did when I first laid eyes on her… almost eighteen years ago.

 

Medium: Watercolors
Size: 6 x 4 (inches)
Materials: 90lb Cold Press Paper
Frame: Mini Wooden Shadow Box with Glass (4 5/8"W x 6 5/8"T x 1.25"D)
Completed: Friday, October 24, 2014

Artist: Adam Kiger
Represented By: Park View Gallery
Artist's Website: www.adamkiger.com

 

Who is Ann and what is 31 flavors of love?!