A (5) came home from school today and was so excited and couldn't wait to give me something - an elastic hairband that he's found on his school playground. As he gave to me, he explained that this hairband is for me to put on my left wrist, like all my other ones - a tiny detail that I didn't expect anyone to notice. He also added that "It's purple! Your favorite color!"
It is nothing special, really. It has quite a few fuzz ball around the fabric band, an obvious sign that it has been used quite a bit before. The elastic can still give a good stretch but the fused part is on its way to being torn. It has some different coloredfuzz from different places stuck on the band. The fact that it is the color purple doesn't make it look any more special. It really is just a plain o' used elastic hairband that a little girl probably lost as she slid down the slide or ran around with her little friends on the playground.
Don't know when exactly I started this peculiar habit of always wearing an elastic hairband on my left wrist. Sure, when days get hot and vigorous activities are required, a ready hairband on hand is always handy. But it serves much more than putting my long hair up into a quick ponytail or a bun. I've used the hairband to fix dresses. I've used the hairband to secure things to machines, appliances, and structures. I've used it to stabilize percussive instruments, furnitures, and fixtures. I've created tons of spur-of-the-moment quick fixes with my 24-hour on-call at-wrist hairbands.
And the hairbands I've worn have evolved with time as well. It started out innocent enough with a traditional rubber band, pasta and red-colored. Then came the multi-colored thin flat plastic bands. I had quite a collection of these and often make exchanges with friends for different colors. And then there were the types with ornaments on it. Wearing them was like wearing jewelry at that age. Tacky or not, it was the 80's after all. Then the soft holder dealy made its debut. Before long came the infamous scrunchie. I then made a switch to a fabric covered one that had a metal holder. These kind come in a variety of colors and textures. Some had gold strings interlaced in the bands. Some had a flat cross-section; other had round. Recently a new trend of silicon bands with shapes emerged. Over the years different types of hairbands graced my wrist, and the ones I sport now is just a plain black one. Simple. Understated.
Like MacGyver's Swiss Army knife, I've got my hairband. It doesn't matter if I have on a watch or a bracelet, that plain o' black hairband goes right next or underneath it. If its mundane appearance really crashed with the entire fashion ensemble, I'd just place a loose one inside my handbag and make a vivid mental note of its exact location inside my bag. Yes, I know. I do have a problem.
The funny thing is that I don't think anyone other than myself knows or notices that I always have a hairband on my left wrist. How long my son has known about this quirky habit of mine I will never know for sure. But for a five-year-old boy to notice and to find me something that, to him, is both essential and a favorite, is so astounding and unbelievably sweet.
He sat next to me and carefully placed the purple hairband onto my left wrist. Satisfied with how the hairband looked, he looked up at me and beamed, "Mama, do you like it? See! It's purple, your favorite color!"
Although it might not be a fancy designer watch, a diamond bracelet, or even a family heirloom, this second-handed purple hairband means so much more than all of that combined. It is the first and the most precious jewelry my son has given to me.
It is nothing special, really. It has quite a few fuzz ball around the fabric band, an obvious sign that it has been used quite a bit before. The elastic can still give a good stretch but the fused part is on its way to being torn. It has some different coloredfuzz from different places stuck on the band. The fact that it is the color purple doesn't make it look any more special. It really is just a plain o' used elastic hairband that a little girl probably lost as she slid down the slide or ran around with her little friends on the playground.
Don't know when exactly I started this peculiar habit of always wearing an elastic hairband on my left wrist. Sure, when days get hot and vigorous activities are required, a ready hairband on hand is always handy. But it serves much more than putting my long hair up into a quick ponytail or a bun. I've used the hairband to fix dresses. I've used the hairband to secure things to machines, appliances, and structures. I've used it to stabilize percussive instruments, furnitures, and fixtures. I've created tons of spur-of-the-moment quick fixes with my 24-hour on-call at-wrist hairbands.
And the hairbands I've worn have evolved with time as well. It started out innocent enough with a traditional rubber band, pasta and red-colored. Then came the multi-colored thin flat plastic bands. I had quite a collection of these and often make exchanges with friends for different colors. And then there were the types with ornaments on it. Wearing them was like wearing jewelry at that age. Tacky or not, it was the 80's after all. Then the soft holder dealy made its debut. Before long came the infamous scrunchie. I then made a switch to a fabric covered one that had a metal holder. These kind come in a variety of colors and textures. Some had gold strings interlaced in the bands. Some had a flat cross-section; other had round. Recently a new trend of silicon bands with shapes emerged. Over the years different types of hairbands graced my wrist, and the ones I sport now is just a plain black one. Simple. Understated.
Like MacGyver's Swiss Army knife, I've got my hairband. It doesn't matter if I have on a watch or a bracelet, that plain o' black hairband goes right next or underneath it. If its mundane appearance really crashed with the entire fashion ensemble, I'd just place a loose one inside my handbag and make a vivid mental note of its exact location inside my bag. Yes, I know. I do have a problem.
The funny thing is that I don't think anyone other than myself knows or notices that I always have a hairband on my left wrist. How long my son has known about this quirky habit of mine I will never know for sure. But for a five-year-old boy to notice and to find me something that, to him, is both essential and a favorite, is so astounding and unbelievably sweet.
He sat next to me and carefully placed the purple hairband onto my left wrist. Satisfied with how the hairband looked, he looked up at me and beamed, "Mama, do you like it? See! It's purple, your favorite color!"
Although it might not be a fancy designer watch, a diamond bracelet, or even a family heirloom, this second-handed purple hairband means so much more than all of that combined. It is the first and the most precious jewelry my son has given to me.
And I shall wear it proudly.
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