I have two hairdressers, a Croatian hairdresser, and an English hairdresser to whom I am very loyal, and they are also loyal to me. I have already written about my hairdresser Ana on this blog in an article entitled "Ana and I", but what I did not write at the time was how Ana and I became inseparable in this business relationship that grew into a friendship over two and a half decades. I spent five weeks in the hospital with my Sara during my late, risky pregnancy. My Ana came to the hospital on her own initiative every week to wash and do my hair. In addition, she refused to take the money I always offered her. Ana, with her compassion and dedication, bought me for life. It never occurred to me that while I was in Croatia I would go to another hairdresser.
But I also have my hairdresser in England for almost two decades now. Jason won me over with his unquestionable hairdressing talent but also with his gentleness and kindness so typical of what I consider a true English gentleman. I came through all those years to Jason when the times were good, but also when they weren't, and when I was fighting the demons of my disease. A few years ago, we discovered that something connects us here because one member of his family suffers from the same disease as me.
Jason is honest and I can always count on his suggestion and advice. I once came up with the idea that I wanted to dye my hair orange. So, on that occasion, all excited by my idea, I said: “Jason, I would really like to be orange. Can you make me orange please?” He was not at all thrilled with my idea and began to explain gently and patiently: “Orange may look beautiful while it is fresh, but with washing it loses its beauty and changes quickly. Also, the growth of grey hair is much more noticeable on it… Suddenly, in the middle of his explanation, he paused, took a short break and gently but firmly concluded: “as long as I am your hairdresser, you won’t be orange”. I laughed there, and I still smile when I think about it, so I share it with you.
The past year has been difficult for many people, and Jason and his family have unfortunately spent most of the past year without income or work. It's terribly hard for me to imagine how many people like Jason have had to suffer. Such stresses necessarily left traces on human health without being infected by Covid. I immediately saw on my Jason that he was thinner than I remember him and I wanted to hug him and tell him "Everything will be fine."
And I raise my daughter to be loyal to people. In addition to Ana in Croatia, Sara has had her own hairdresser for years, and that is Jason's associate Nicola. Jason once cut off Sara’s long hair too much, and Nicola knows exactly how to cut and style her hair. As soon as Sara returns from Cardiff, she will book an appointment with her Nicola.
I want the rest of this year to bring us calm and some form of new normalcy in which we will fight the disease, but in which people like Nicola, Jason and Ana will not be left without their jobs. The vaccine gives us the confidence that we will succeed.
Love,
Kristina
Friday, May 14th, 2021
“Neces biti narandzasta.”
Ja imam dva frizera, hrvatsku frizerku I engleskog frizera kojima sam vrlo odana, a I oni su odani meni. O mojoj frizerki Ani sam vec pisala na ovom blogu u clanku pod naslovom “Ana I ja”, ali ono sto tada nisam napisala je kako smo Ana I ja postale nerzdvojive u tom poslovnom odnosu koji je tokom dva I pol desetljeca prerastao u prijateljstvo. Ja sam tokom kasne trudnoce sa svojom Sarom provela pet tjedana u bolnici, cuvajuci riskantnu trudnocu. Moja je Ana samoinicijativno svaki tjedan dolazila u bolnicu da mi opera kosu I napravi mi frizuru. Uz to odbijala je uzeti novac koji sam joj uvijek nudila. Ana me tim cinom zapravo kupila za citav zivot. Nebi mi palo niti na kraj pameti da dok sam u Hrvatskoj odem kod nekog drugog frizera.
Ali I u Engleskoj imam svog frizera, pa sad vec gotovo dva desetljeca. Jason me osvojio svojim neupitnim frizerskim talentom ali I blagoscu u ophodjenju, ljubaznoscu tako tipicnu za ono sto ja smatram pravim engleskim dzentlmenom. Dolazila sam kroz sve te godine kod Jasona kad su vremena bila dobra, ali i onda kad nisu I kad sam se borila sa demonima svoje bolesti. Pred nekoliko godina smo otkrili da nas I tu nesto povezuje jer jedan clan njegove obitelji boluje od ise bolesti kao I ja.
Jason je iskren I uvijek mogu racunati na njegovu sugestiju I savjet. Jednom sam tako dosla na ideju da sam zeljela obojati svoju kosu u narandzasto. Tako sam tom prilikom sva ushicena svojom idejom rekla: “Jason, ja bi jako zeljela biti narandzasta. Jel me mozes obojati u narandzasto?” On nije uopce bio ushicen sa mojom idejom I poceo je njezno I strpljivo objasnjavati :”Narandzasta boja moze izgledati lijepo dok je friska, ali sa pranjem gubi ljepotu I mijenja se. Isto tako izrast sijede kose se na njoj puno vise uocava…” Tu je odjednom, usred svog objasnjavanja zastao, napravio kratku pauzu I njezno ali odlucno zakljucio: “Dok sam ja tvoj frizer neces biti narandzasta”. Tu sam se nasmijala, a I danas se smijesim kad se toga sjetim pa zato to dijelim I sa vama.
Protekla je godina bila teska za mnoge ljude, a Jason I njegova obitelj su nazalost veci dio protekle godine proveli bez prihoda, odnosno posla. Strasno mi je tesko I zamisliti koliko su ljudi kao Jason morali propatiti. Takovi stresovi nuzno su ostavili tragove na zdravlje ljudi, a da nisu zarazili Covidom. Vidjela sam odmah I na svom Jasonu da je mrsaviji nego ga pamtim I pozelim da ga zagrlim I da mu Kazem “Sve ce biti dobro.”
I svoju kcer odgajam da bude odana ljudima. I ona vec godinama pored Ane u Hrvatskoj, ima svog frizera, a to je Jasonova suradnica Nicola. Jason joj je jednom prilikom previse odrezao njezinu dugu kosu, a Nicola tocno zna kako I koliko treba. Cim se Sara vrati iz Cardiffa ici ce na sisanje kod svoje Nicole.
Zelim da nam ostatak ove godine donese smirenje I nekakav oblik nove normalnosti u kojoj cemo se izboriti sa bolesti, ali u kojoj ljudi kao sto su Nicola, Jason I Ana nece ostati bez svojih poslova. Cijepivo daje uvjerenje da cemo u tome I uspjeti.
S ljubavlju,
Kristina
Petak, 14. Svibnja 2021.
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