When Mother was in the nursing home, one of the things she wanted more than anything was to get her hair permed. As far back as I remember, she always had her hair permed. About a year before she died, she had her hair cut very short and wore it straight. She never liked it that way though. She was used to her curls and longed to have them back again. Her hair had finally grown enough to get a perm, but by then, she was in too much pain to have it done. Her nursing home roommate got her hair done every week and Mother couldn't wait to have hers done again. Once she had the injection in her hip and her pain subsided, she planned to get a perm.
When I was little, Mother would go to the "beauty operator" to get her perms. I don't know where the term beauty operator came from, but it always sounded to me like you needed surgery to become beautiful. (The older I get, there are many mornings when I look in the mirror and think I could use a beauty operator, in that sense.) Another funny thing to me was the name of the beauty operator my mom went to. Her name was Achsa. It was pronounced "Ax-uh". It's the only person I ever knew of named that. To me, her name was ironic for her profession. It sounded to me like she would axe your hair off. Not to mention, a beauty operator performing surgery with an ax didn't sound like a good mix to me. I'm sure that I met Achsa at some point, but I don't remember her. Mother loved her and I am sure she was wonderful. Mother always looked great when she came home from getting a perm there. Achsa died a few years before my mom at the age of 97.
Between perms, Mother would give her hair a boost by putting pin curls in it. Every saturday night, she'd wash her hair and then carefully twist small sections of hair around her finger. She'd pull her finger out of the curl and use a bobby pin to hold the section of hair down. In no time at all, she'd have all her hair pinned. She would sleep with the bobby pins in her hair and in the morning she'd pop them out and have beautifully curly hair for church.
When Achsa retired from beauty operating, Mother started going to a woman named Joanne. She had a hair salon in the basement of her house. As my mom got older and was no longer able to make it up and down the steps at Joanne's, she started going to see a hair stylist named Jeanie. Several other members of our family, including my dad had gone to Jeanie for years. It was easier for Mother to get in and out of that salon and she was still able to get her perms.
When it started to get hard for my dad to get around, Jeanie would come out to the farm to give him haircuts. I know doctors used to make house calls, but a hairstylist/barber/beauty operator? Jeanie was so sweet to do this and I no it meant the world to Mother and Daddy.
Jeanie was going to give Mother her perm in the nursing home once her pain subsided. But, the pain came back too quickly and Mother ended up in hospice. I kept thinking that Mother would hate the way her straight hair looked at her funeral. I know it's kind of a weird thing to worry about, but you think of all kinds of weird things when you watch your loved one dying.
When we met with Jeff (the funeral director) after Mother died, we told him how Mother had wanted a perm. Jeff said he was sure that Jeanie would do Mother's hair for her one last time. She did a fabulous job. Mother's hair looked beautiful. It was no longer the straight hair that she disliked. It had soft curls and looked wonderful. I know that Mother would have been very happy. Her only disappointment would have been not being able to tell Jeanie how much it meant to her. Don't worry, Mother, we told her for you.
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