A NEW CONSTELLATION

A New Constellation 

2020 Smith, Lynn Rilean 

Ever doubt destiny? I did. Many times. 

Not suppose to be somewhere only to find out that indeed you were exactly where you were supposed to be. 

As if you were strategically placed there by God? Maybe? 

To learn something new. To feel something new. To further discover your best self. 

The prompt to write about an established group welcoming a new face was an instant decision for me. Me. I’m the new face. Them, they are the established welcoming group.

It’s a chapter in my book that I had started writing about in the summer of 2018. 

I was living a good life with a wonderful job and circle of friends who were already so life changing for me. I still can’t speak highly enough of the love I have for them and the love I was shown by them and the wings they helped me grow. 

Needless to say, I met my happy ever after. We commuted for several months but eventually made a decision to have just one home. It made the most sense I uproot. I prayed the new soil that was going to surround me would be welcoming and provide the nutrients I needed to continue growing. Established 42 year old single female in big city Tulsa. Getting ready to have her roots dug up and replanted in a small town across the state line. Joplin, Missouri. New home, new everything. 

Moving wasn’t the scariest part. That’s in my dna. Finding an authentic fit. That’s the tricky part. Actually tricky is a wimpy word for that anxiety. Frightening is more accurate. 

Nervous and excited at the same time. 

Like the first day of a new school. 

This move was nothing like I had experienced. 

All I had to do was connect the dots.  

Salon life. 

What’s one thing you have always heard about women in a salon? Exactly, Drama. Oddly enough making my decision to join this group of women was easy. I was told how opposite of a soap opera salon this work family was. 

They were established in 2001 and the owner’s have been best friends forever. The turn over amongst them almost Nil. 

By way of fate ( literally) I found myself home and surrounded by angels. Each one wearing a different halo with wings made of many colors. ( no pun intended ) 

Welcoming, inviting, beautiful, energetic, faithful, compassionate, supportive, kind, warm, silly and fun. Just a few colors that make them all beautiful. 

I will speak of them using their initials to give you a window to my new world.

CL ~ The boss, Mom, friend, plant whisperer, lover of the outdoors, thinker, planner, do-er. Listener.

KA ~ Also the boss, Mom, friend, saving grace, feels her soul surface and isn’t afraid to show it. Listener.

KG ~ Where do I start here and keep my prompt of 3000 words or less? My salon sidekic. So many beautiful descriptions can be inserted here so will do my best to keep it simple. Mom, Nana, gentle, spiritual, angelic, brave, bold, kind, direct, compassionate and appreciative, teacher, wise, friend. I could go on and on.

NP~ I can’t help but take my imagination wild with this little hot firecracker. Tiny and tough, mixed with the perfect amount of beauty and sensitivity that writes love all through the air when you speak to her. A total doll. So much fun to talk to and learn from as well. She paints nails but to me she paints the world into such a pretty place.

Gosh almost halfway through this list and I am running out of word count. I have to try to limit the rest. Let me see what I can do here with a few words and still create an idea of the other women in the group.

SP ~ I’d love to share one of my first experiences with her in the lash room because it is a belly laugh. I can’t do that because what happens in the lash room stays in the lash room. I knew right then though that I would never doubt I belonged here. She’s on her way to the chapel this week and she’s going to get married. Beautiful, blessed and a blessing to others is probably the best way to describe this lady, mother, friend and co-worker.

LC ~ been waiting to get here to this cool cat and kitten. My Joe exotic, my tiger friend and lover of snakes. Kidding. She hates snakes. I can’t type this without laughing out loud. This girl said whoop there it is. That’s just her and how she rolls. We are cut from the same cloth. She couldn’t have been more right saying that to me. So many thing’s in common in the mom world. I have this mental image of her at woodstock. Round sun glasses, tight fitting bell bottoms, tube top, tattoos, and a whole lot of free to be me.

I have not got to spend much time with the rest of our group but I can tell you a few things that make them all special to me.

AS ~ kind, direct, forward, friend, authentic, helpful, wise, I feel very connected to her by an invisible thread.

BE ~ she won’t be surprised when I say this. She is bossy. Literally. She was in charge in her cosmetology career as The Boss lady. She came in after I was established and she made change look easy. We have since got to watch her become a mother for the first time and it has most definitely been a beautiful journey to watch unfold.

JR ~ The one I know the least about because she rarely has time to eat lunch. Lover of shoes, we all know this, as she tracks her packages. She pointed me to one of my all time favorite establishments that I now frequent for nutritional teas. One thing that is very on it is the love she has for her grandson. There is something about him that make her eyes sparkle.

JH ~ The masseuse. The muscle mover.

Have an ache? She’s no doctor. She is more like magic. She is a good conversationalist and I have enjoyed many laughs with this lady. I find myself thinking of her often and stories she has shared with me about her and her family. Sometimes I think she missed her calling because she is such a hoot and never fails to make me smile.

I did it. I met my word count with little difficulty. Speaking of these angels was easier than I predicted it would be. The words just flowed.

I will now close this and leave you with this message of hope.

Look up.

I don’t know everything. No one does. What I do know is that these women mean everything to me. There is a set of stars in the sky and if you look up and connect them you will see a new constellation. 

C & K ~ has been written in the stars. 

2020 Smith, Lynn Rilean

A New Constellation