Bad hair day

Like everyone who juggles work, parenting and running commitments each day, I would consider myself fairly busy. For everything to run smoothly, it works best if I’m very well organized and have a strict routine. Unfortunately, my love of spontaneous activities coupled with a belief that I work better on tight deadlines, can leave me in less than desirable situations. Yesterday morning was one of those instances.

I hadn’t woken up at 5 a.m. to run because I was planning on run-commuting to and from work – about 6.5 kilometres each way. I love being efficient! I did wake up with enough time to get kids’ breakfasts and lunches ready, eat my own breakfast, help them find their outfits for the day and fire off a few work emails.

Feeling accomplished, I sat down and sipped my coffee before realizing I only had 15 minutes to shower, iron a shirt, pick an outfit, pack my and get out the door. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem (note my belief in tight deadlines above), but functioning like this leaves zero room for things to go wrong. They sometimes do.

In the shower, I realized I’d forgotten to buy shampoo and we were completely out. I scrambled through a drawer and found a sample, one of those single-use packages. It was old, thick and gooey; more of a paste than your usual gell-like shampoo

I thought maybe the goo-shampoo just needed water, so I smeared it across the top of my head. It did not lather. It just clung like wax to my hair in clumps. I had no time to fight with it so I got out and tried to brush it through. I then realized it was not only thick and waxy: it stunk!

I tried to blow-dry while ironing my shirt and getting my kids to brush their teeth, but the main top chunk remained stubbornly wet, dense and oily. At this point I had to call it “good enough” as we had to get out the door or we would miss the school bell. I power-walked to the school, kids jogging beside to keep up. I hoped my hair would dry slightly on the way. It was then I realized I’d forgotten a hair elastic.

I ran into work with my thick wad of waxy hair flopping up and down. I usually try to run in slowly so that I don’t get too sweaty and can do a quick change into work clothes to appear professional in minutes. That plan was a write-of. I ran fast and showed up sweaty with a helmet head.

I’m not sure if anyone even noticed. Maybe they were just too polite to say anything, but in the end I figure I won. I made it to work, got my kids to school on time, fed and clothed, and I got 13 kilometres of running in. Sometimes vanity has to take a back-seat to the more important matters.