French la Vie

Tomorrow I am going to Paris to see a friend I have not seen since I was pregnant with Chelsea.

Laura was one of my closest friends in the monastery. Laura left around the time that I did-

she married, had children, a career, a beautiful life… and tomorrow we will remember and share

our stories of then, in between and now. I can hardly wait to see her. 

Here is a story I posted about Laura last year:

When I lived in a monastery, the Abbot asked who knew how to cut hair? I raised my hand, I had never cut anyone's hair in my life but being 19, in a monastery, I had to claim amusement where I could.

But before I started my new job as the hairdresser, my friend Laura asked if she could cut Sweet Father Dominique's hair, he was the first guinea pig.

She asked him what type of haircut he wanted, he said a light trim. Slowly, with a gleam in her eye, she buzzed every single hair off his head. Every single hair. He smiled.

Then with the same look in her eye, she asked if she could trim his beard? He said yes. She shaved it off- his beautiful salt and pepper beard, gone! I was aghast, how could she. Shyly Father Dominique asked if she was having fun? Laura giggled, "Yes indeed." I did not understand Laura's humor nor Father Dominique's calmness.

Then she asked him if she could trim his eyebrows! I could not believe my ears I shook my head no. But he agreed, she shaved them too. Father Dominique looked stark naked.

Father Dominique looked in the mirror, then he looked at Laura holding the clippers. He smiled, stood up, shook the hair off, and said, "I need to go now, for I am certain you will ask me to trim my eyelashes, and I fear I would agree."

Sometimes, the holiest thing we can say is no.