What would you do?

I ran into a very sticky situation this week.

Let me explain ...

First a little back story, of course ...

I don't have my hair cut/highlighted all that often.  Why? Well ... the TIME and the CASH.

Going into a salon to have this mop of mine cut and fully highlighted is a minimum 3 hour commitment.

Plus ... it's always to the tune of $150 or MORE.

With those two things combined ... it's hard to justify both time and money.

Before we moved  .. my "beautician extraordinaire" Auntie D. graciously cut and colored my hair for me ... super helpful being I was newly pregnant and sick.

That was in July.  With the holidays upon us --- and because I feel like an old bag lady most days ... I thought it was high time to freshen up said "mop on head".  Nothing makes a girl feel better ... even with an added 20 baby pounds on my belt.

So ... I contemplated where to go.  I blindly made a call to a salon near our home.  I'd dropped in once before and it seemed like a nice place.

I made the appointment and started to look forward to my three hours of pampering.

The next day ... the salon called saying they had double booked .... and there wasn't a time slot for me.

Frustrated .... I hung up and started looking for other salons.

I came across an Aveda salon at a mall pretty close to us.  I've gotten services at a few Aveda salons back home ... and I've always enjoyed the experience and products.

My plan was back on track.

Skip ahead to above mentioned "sticky situation".

I dropped the girls off with the nanny and headed for the mall ... now very excited for my cup of Aveda herbal tea and a little mommy TLC.

When I walked into the salon and was introduced to my stylist ... I will admit I had an initial reaction ... I can't quite pin it down .... but I guess if I'm being honest I felt she looked a little "rough" .... or perhaps just extremely tired.

I'd overheard the front desk manager speaking about their in-store holiday party that took place the previous night and so I just chalked it up to being extra tired from working late.

After a quick potty break ... I was sitting in her chair ready to go.  I'm always curious when I meet a new stylist ... if they have any ideas for my hair.

We start chatting .... and she didn't seem too interested.  We talked about the highlight colors .... and she said she would trim me up.

I asked her about the holiday party .... and she said something along the lines of "oh ... that wasn't even my issue last night".

She went on to say something about someone breaking into her window??? I was a little shocked .... asked a few questions, but she didn't go on any further.  It seemed very odd.

We had a little other small talk where in which she mumbled some stuff under breath that really didn't correlate to our conversation.  Again -- very odd.

She came back after mixing up the color ... and began highlighting....well ... once she found her comb which took forever.

She then dropped the comb and several foils before getting started.  She was pretty aggressive with my foils.  She kept saying ... "sorry I'm smashing your face".

At this point she's also asked me three times if I was at their holiday party the night before.  Obviously I wasn't as I was a new client.

SO ODD.

I was starting to seriously get concerned.  Concerned about her and concerned about my hair.

We then started talking about football and the MN Vikings.  It was a decent conversation so I thought maybe I'm overreacting...not atypical for me.

But - then - she got pretty close to me ... and it was clear as the blue sky ... SHE WAS DRUNK.  INTOXICATED.

This was 11am.

A few minutes later she excused herself to the bathroom ... and I started to panic.

I took 2 minutes to really THINK through what to do .. and I decided when she came back I was going to just tell her I was aware she was "not having her best day" and ask her to wash me out and I would be on my way.

I thought about talking to one of the other salon employees, but the last thing I wanted was to get this girl in trouble.  She seemed like a nice girl.  I felt for her.

I quickly called the hubs and was like .... "my stylist is drunk".  He was shocked and I got so flustered I just hung up on him.

Tick...tick...tick......at least 10 minutes goes by and she is nowhere to be seen........ I'm starting to really panic now.  I have BLEACH on my hair.

So ... without much more thought ... I stood up and talked to another stylist.  As kindly as I could ... I told her I thought my stylist was having a tough day..... saying and repeating things that were not making sense to me.

She pried for more information ... and I finally told her she had a strong scent of alcohol on her breath.

I felt terrible.....but the hubs had texted me reminding me that my stylist could be dangerous with scissors, chemicals, etc and that I should be careful.  I guess I hadn't even thought about that.

The manager and the stylist I was speaking with were very kind.  I was almost shaking/crying at this point because I felt so badly.  I'd only met this stylist 20 minutes prior -- but something told me her life was not going quite right ... right now.

Of course ... the other employees were apologetic beyond words .... did everything to rearrange other clients so that they could finish my appointment.

To be blunt - they were mortified.  But ... I could also tell they were concerned about my stylist.

After my "new" stylist took over ... she immediately took me back to the sink to wash out my highlights.  I have a strong hunch it was not done properly ... and you could clearly see the front of my hair was already quite blonde and needed to be fixed.

After some DEEP breaths ... I was back in the chair with newly washed and dried hair and getting highlights again.  My new stylist was a sweet girl (which most of them are) and we got along beautifully.  She listened to me as I'd hope the first gal would ... and did a really nice job with the highlights and cut.

We only spoke of the other gal one other time .... she was very professional and again very concerned about my experience.

Upon check out .... the manager pulled me aside and said that my initial stylist had been found out in her car.  I'm assuming passed out.  She was very concerned.  She didn't give me any specifics ... but I was glad she filled me in that much.

The manager .... heartfully and in tears -- thanked me for my grace with the situation.  To me .. I didn't think I'd really done much other than show concern for the stylist and for my "processing hair".

Afterward it made me think, though ... we ALL have days, months, even years in life that don't always go quite right.....where, often, we need help working through something.

I was certainly a little disappointed my expected 3 hours of pampering left me feeling a bit shaken, but upon reflection ... I was shaken over who might be waiting for that gal at home.  Who will help her?? Does she have anyone??

Of course ... I won't and don't know.  And, that's probably for the best.  The hubs reminded me later that she likely drove to work intoxicated ... and then proceeded to make bad choices about working with chemicals and sharp objects all while not in her right mind.  I know he was concerned for me .... and I know he was right.

I also know I will continue to think of her .... and although very unlikely I'll ever see her again .... I can use the power of prayer to help her through this time.  It's really all I can do.

Have you ever encountered a situation like this?? Yes.... no??? Either way ... what would you do??

I guess it's left me just a little shaken and reminded that no matter who we encounter ... they are usually going through .. working through ... something.  And, yes ... I should have GRACE for them ... because tomorrow or perhaps the next day ... it could be me.

With love,
Cuz I'm the mama!