Hairdressers, Doctors and Dentists

Growing up in the same town from birth really had many advantages. One of those being that I had the same service providers for things like doctor visits, dentist appointments and hair cuts.

The one disadvantage is that you are not stretched, it's easy to get stuck inside a box and think..."This is the ONLY way I can cut my hair" and "this is the only way to get my teeth cleaned" and "I must not have anything wrong with me because this one doctor said so".

The major advantage is that...."this hairdresser knows my hair and my personality like the back of her hand, she will know what's looks best on me and what I'll feel comfortable with" and "this doctor knows all my medical history, I could call them up and they might even write me up a prescription over the phone!".

All that to say, until I actually got married and located myself permanently in another city, was I forced to make some drastic life-changing decisions! :) I don't think people realize how much of a pain it is to change the businesses you go to that provide services to you.

It started with a hairdresser. Living in a small town and paying $14 for a haircut was quite a bit different than $40 for a haircut (+that hefty tip!). Not to mention that they don't know the personality of my hair. They don't realize that even though you can make it full of body beautifully bouncy in the salon, 2 short hours later, my fine, thin and straight hair will be limp and lifeless, lying on the side of my head. And there I am, stuck with a haircut and style that I have no idea how to style (because I haven't changed my haircut since high school, remember). Who knows how it will look for the next whole year now because since I just got married, of course I chopped it all off. Is that in the marriage vows; "Every bride must chop her hair off completely after the honeymoon"!?! (well they do! Don't ask me why!) So there I was in my new city for 9 months of our newly married life, with short hair, that I couldn't control, and by now was on my 2nd hairdresser. Finely, I was starting to feel more comfortable with my hairdresser and style...after spending all that money on product and brushes and straighteners and curling irons, who wouldn't look good??

Then my husband tells me we are moving to Missouri! Excited for the adventure, we are off, but shortly after the move, I realize -- I need a haircut! So there we are, knowing no one to ask for a recommendation, I call and make an appointment at the salon 2 blocks away from our apartment. Holly. The first year with Holly was rough. She encouraged me to try the straight style, but I could never quite get it figured out and the color she gave me was never what I wanted. Then after a year, we found the groove! I started using the curling iron and asking for styling tips and she got the color right on and for 9 months, it was bliss!

Then back to Kansas we moved. Oh know. Here we go again! Luckily the same hairdresser was still around-although my style had changed and I loved it! It's taken 6 months now, and we haven't hit the nail on the head, but I'm confident in December at my appointment, it will be perfect!

To save you all the pain of hearing my unreasonably long stories about doctors and dentists, I'll just let you know that now, I've been back to Kansas for 6 months and I have yet to make an appointment with a doctor or dentist....it's SO hard to find the perfect one, especially when you loved the one you had in another city. I'm just thankful my eyesight is excellent, can you imagine the extra stress of finding an eye doctor too?!? :)

I need to do it though, I had a lot of dental work done last year and I need to get my teeth cleaned and get familiar with a dentist. And I need to get my cholesterol checked too (thanks to the terrific genes from my dad and grandpa, I have the wonderful gift of high cholesterol and need it checked at least once a year...really should get that done!).

All that to say, it's so easy to procrastinate, and be frustrated for at least the first year after moving to a new place as you try to figure out who you choose to provide services for you. So for those of you newlyweds, or oldlyweds, who are living somewhere new, it's ok to be frustrated as you find new providers, but don't procrastinate! Just take the bull by the horns and get 'er done! After all, if you end up with H1N1, you want to be able to easily call a provider and not have to give them your whole life's history as you pass out on the table, or let a toothache go on longer than it should as it causes the need for a root canal, or heaven-forbid, get split ends!!!

Ok, I've motivated myself, I'll call the doctor and dentist today.....ok, maybe tomorrow....