Well, to say it’s
about time is what I would really call an understatement. This year marks the
tenth-year anniversary for my sheitel.
It was 10 years ago that we married off two of our children. At that time, I
bought myself a brand new sheitel and
at a remarkably good price, too. Who knew it would last as long as it did?
Here I am, 10
years older, and my sheitel is
finally ready for the dust bin. And while I’m at it, I’ve decided that I’m
tired of the tried-and-true look that I’ve worn all these years. I’m not one of
those women who can visualize what kind of sheitel
I’d look best in without seeing it, nor am I that interested in the latest
fashion. In fact, I can’t say I would even know what that is. I’m more the type
of person who knows what I don’t like more than what I do. I definitely had my
work cut out for me with this task as my quest for the new me began.
Somehow, I had
this sheitel vision that I would like
to go from straight hair to curly. Who knew where that idea came from, but I
was determined, nonetheless. Determined but cautious, as I wasn’t prepared to
plunk down real money on a whim, I did what I do best and made inquiries.
First, I needed to find a sheitel macher. I wanted someone who would tell
me sincerely what looked best on my head and not say everything looked great
even when in reality it would look absolutely ridiculous. She needed to be
someone who understood my age group and wouldn’t make me look like a kallah wannabe. As I talked with this
friend and that one, I tried to figure out how to go about tackling this
endeavor in the best way I knew how. I was very nervous about buying a new sheitel and knew I wouldn’t be able to
get away with finding a bargain basement sheitel
as I did 10 years ago. And scariest of all, I realized that once this shiny
expensive new sheitel was cut, it
would be mine forever, like it or not. Just thinking about that gave me hives.
A friend of mine
told me that she looked on the computer to get some good ideas. “Type in the
search bar ‘curly-haired wig for middle-aged women,’” she told me. That title
didn’t thrill me in the least, but I followed her advice anyway and found some
styles I thought I would like. Then she loaned me her new curly sheitel to try on. What a kindness that
was! I really liked her sheitel. It
looked terrific on her but absolutely ghastly on me.
Then I heard about
our local sheitel gemach. Yes, I
thought – the answer to all of my problems. If I could find a curly sheitel that I liked, I could ease my
way into the curly-haired world without having to spend an absolute fortune. I
decided to make an appointment to see what the gemach had and if I saw something halfway decent, I would take it
and give the gemach a generous
donation.
As I looked at the
selection of sheitels several
evenings later, I was thrilled when I found one that looked interesting. It
wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned as its wavy locks weren’t curly, and the
hair was not my usual color, but it had some very pretty highlights. Secretly,
I’d always wanted highlights but never had the nerve to get them. Getting this sheitel was my foray into the world of
wearing something different other than my usual same-old taste. I felt bold and
brave as the assistant put my “new” sheitel
into a bag for me to take home.
After I had the sheitel washed and trimmed, I felt ready
to try on new ones. I spent a long time with the sheitel macher choosing one. But as one hour turned into two, I
started feeling like I’d had enough and knew I needed some time to think about
this costly decision.
Over the next
several days, my courage waned. I decided that my sheitel from the gemach
would have to suffice for now until I was certain I knew what I wanted.
Besides, I’d had enough and needed a break from it all. I often find that when
I’m faced with making a difficult decision, all other decisions that come my
way, whether big or small, can seem overwhelming – like the stirring up of
unexpected sediment from the bottom of a really good bottle of wine.
It’s been a week since my sheitel-searching episode, and things
have begun to settle back down again. I breathe a sigh of relief when I think
back to my “sedimental” journey, happy that it’s all behind me. I feel sure of
it, at least for now, that is.
Zahava Hochberg
enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren. She can be reached at zrspeech@gmail.com.
