Why do I have those little wisps of bang hanging down my forehead? When I push back my growing hair and clip it back behind the ears, there’s all these bits of hair that don’t fit into the clip.
Really??
I haven’t had a hair cut since mid-February. It’s now mid-May. Three full months of new hair growth. But these little wisps of hair haven’t grown at all. What’s up with that?
Since self-isolation and staying home have been the normal routine since mid-March lots of other things about my appearance have changed. But not these bang thingies.
My pre-Covid decision to go grey has made the changes to my hair colour quite easy to accept. My last application of hair dye was November. So, I was quite prepared to see the silver roots grow, creating a skunky stripe across the top of my head. Happily, it hasn’t been quite that bad. And I must say, the silver is kind of nice. Or maybe my eyesight is diminishing so much that I can’t really tell.
Yes, my eyesight has become more problematic it seems; one of the first things I will do post-Covid self-isolation is get an eye appointment. Challenges of losing glasses, wearing glasses and cleaning glasses have been major frustrations while staying home.
Another change in my physical being has been – you guessed it – gaining weight. Yup, Covid-19 has a whole new meaning for me. I started this home confinement wearing yoga pants daily. But I’ve decided to go back to wearing jeans every day… because I want to make sure that I can still get into said jeans. Some days are better than others. It’s a good thing the waistband has a little bit of stretch in it. Tops are a different story. Weight gain in the chest area has always been my curse – and there’s a bag of now-too-small tops sitting on the floor of the closet to prove it. When the world re-opens, including donation centres, that bag will find its forever home.
Fingernails – now these have had a very weird growth process during these weeks of staying home. Usually my nails grow quite quickly and look half-way decent. I don’t fuss a lot but I do like to get a pedi-mani every 5-6 weeks. In between salon visits, I will remove the nail polish and apply some clear polish to keep them looking semi-good. I find this helps avoid breakage. Now my fingernails are short and stubby, easily chipped or torn. They’re quite unsightly. They’re a mess. I’m not going to analyze if bad diet has something to do with this (See Covid-19 weight gain above). But a lot of baking has created a lot of dishes and I’ve been washing lots of dishes – lots and lots of dishes.
I’ve also been washing my hands a lot. Even though I’m not going anywhere I still my wash hands. Hand-washing is one of the recommended tasks to prevent getting Covid-19, so wash I must! But all this exposure to water has had a negative effect on the fingernails – they sure aren’t growing like they used to.
Toenails – sorry, I know, toes are kind of gross. I never, I mean NEVER, touch my own toes to cut the nails. I haven’t done that for years. I get pedicures all year long. Mostly because I want someone professional to trim those nails. But it also has to do with the fact that bending over to trim my toenails is not exactly an easy task. That requires a specific set of muscles, flexibility and skill. None of these has been my strong suit for many years. And go figure, those blasted toenails are growing, oh yeah. Not only did I recently have to bend and contort to remove old nail polish, I even had to clip them. It wasn’t very pretty to watch. Or easy to do. My toenails are officially a mess. And yet, they keep on growing.
I’ve paid more attention to my feet in general during Covid-19. It’s interesting how feet can change when one goes barefoot or in slippers for extended periods of time. I’ve taken to wearing sneakers in the house now. I actually ordered a new pair online, for the express purpose of wearing them around the house. This has made me an official member of the “you know you’re old when” club. My elderly relatives always wore shoes around the house. My dad and mom started wearing shoes in the house once all the kids were adults and had moved out. They put their shoes on in the morning and take them off at night. That, to me, is a sign of old-age. So along with the silver tresses now sprouting of my head, wearing shoes with good support In The House has become a Covid-19 symbol of aging.
Some other changes I’ve experienced have to do with technology.
Like texting – I’m getting tired of texting. Don’t get me wrong; there seems to be more time and opportunity to connect with so many people. But having the phone always in my hand, or nearby is becoming a little annoying. I need a little break from the way smart phones have enabled us to immediately send a message whenever we have a thought, a wonder, a question, an idea. I think it’s good to let some ideas sit and percolate a little. I’m trying really hard to resist the urge to send a message every time a thought floats through my mind. What did we do pre-smart phone with all of those floating thoughts??? Maybe a lot of those thoughts just came and went… and it wasn’t so bad was it?
Some things are still the same.
My first cup of tea in the morning continues to be the very best start to each day and it’s the very best cup of tea I’ll have all day. The second and third cups are good too, but nothing is ever as good as that first cup.
I still eat cookies every day. I read somewhere that now is not the time to try to make life changes, so why make cookies the enemy?
And I still enjoy a glass of wine while making dinner. Some days I have to resist starting dinner at 3 in the afternoon mind you. But so far, I’ve been able to hold back. Technology has come in handy so I can order wine online. I’m trying to do my part for small wineries that are feeling the pinch of closed operations. Happy to help out.
With tea and cookies in the day, and wine in the evening, I guess staying home during Covid-19 hasn’t been all that bad. Even if I do have to trim my own toenails.