I'M BREAKING UP WITH YOU

Are there limits to loyalty?

Every spring, like clockwork, a ramshackle two-tone maroon Chevy Silverado truck pulls up to our front door.

Often the truck is piled high with items found along the roadside enroute to a recycling center that pays pennies on the pound … a rusty washing machine, a bike with no tires, old shelves and doors, a bent beach umbrella. This is the routine of Chuck, our tree guy.

Chuck and his wife, Deborah, are a package deal. And there’s something that I like about that. It’s a family business of sorts. Deborah is the closer and Chuck is the muscle. He’s a hard worker, though not a fast worker, and he will work until all the trees are trimmed and the job is done. Deborah, on the other hand, has a very different idea of what her role is. Once Chuck props the ladder against the tree and fires up the saw, Deborah starts her spa day. She helps herself to a drink from the mini-bar and takes a dip in the swimming pool. It’s not uncommon to find Deborah lounging under the umbrella, barking orders up to Chuck, who’s waving the chain saw thirty feet high up on the ladder. It’s also not uncommon for my husband and I to end up clearing out branches and debris ourselves.

This routine has continued for years! Experience has taught us that if we hire Chuck, we will have a ladder and various tools and wreckage strewn about the yard for at least a week … and sometimes maybe two. But Chuck’s charm and southern drawl make him impossible to refuse.

We know what will happen. We know it will take what seems like forever to get the job done. We know we will cave and spend hours sweeping and bagging leaves ourselves. We know all this, yet we both find it impossible to turn Chuck and Deborah away.

Loyalty is a trait I admire. Even though I was at first against hiring Chuck and Deborah again this year, my husband was adamant!

“Chuck is our tree guy,” he said. And I couldn’t criticize him for that. Chuck is our tree guy.

 Similarly, I’ve used the same hairdresser for over twenty years. I’ve followed her around to several salons, and then there was a stint at her house during the year that the salon was closed. My co-workers and family know I will NOT cancel a hair appointment. I’m not even tempted when friends tell me about a new salon or how much they love their new blowout. Nope … my hairdresser knows my formula, and I’m sticking with her.

However, the problem is my hair! It’s breaking off, and it just doesn’t look and feel the same. When I reported this to the teenager who is now the only person I see for my annual wellness exams, she said it was normal and part of aging. And why is it that, if you are a basically healthy woman over fifty, you no longer get to see your regular doctor? My wellness exams feel a little more like a practice session—and I still have my hair problem.

There is something else I’ve been using for over twenty years. The same shampoo and conditioner! In years past, whenever I’ve tried new products, I’ve always gone back to the tried and true. But this time, things feel different—literally! I apologize to you brand loyalists … and you know who you are … I used to be one of you. But I’m at my wit’s end and I don’t know what else to do. So, to my shampoo and conditioner, this is it.

I’m breaking up with you.

Photo by Dushane white on Unsplash