The other day, my mom looked at my increasingly gray hair and said, "You should color your hair. You look so vibrant when you do. There's no need to look ten or fifteen years older than you are, when you don't have to."

I know it was said with love. No doubt in my mind. The child looking older just makes the mommy feel older, and I can respect that she needs to not feel old.

Okay, so I tried to do something subtle. I used Natural Instincts neutral blond, to coat the gray and make it look like highlights. Ja sure, you betcha. Well, that was so subtle that it almost didn't look like I'd done anything. I went back two weeks later and used my usual Tweed, a light ash brown. Okay, looked fine.

Two weeks later, the gray is back. Now, yes, I know that the Natural Instincts line is intended to wash out in 28 shampoos. And I know that resistant gray is notoriously hard to color (hence resistant). But I've never had the color wash out so quickly. My shampoo is mild, I condition well, and I seldom blow dry my hair. (Except for today, but I have a date, don'tcha know.)

I called my mom. "Mom?" I said, "I tried, I really did. But the gray is just there to stay. I hope you aren't disappointed."

She wasn't.

And I am free once again from the tyranny of coloring. Unless I choose the servitude, and then it's just for the sake of whimsy.

Ah, yes.