Nine Inch Gray

Yep, looks like I got the Hankla gray hair gene. For a few years already I've been seeing little gray hairs pop up and haven't thought much of it. I've heard that you shouldn't pull one out or two more will grow back in it's place. This has to be an old wive's tale, but I've been ignoring them just the same. It's denial, I suppose. But when John's eighty-something year old grandpa pointed them out to me when he was standing over me a few weeks ago, I began to worry. The man can't even see well enough to drive anymore! Since then I've been pulling them as I find them. Tonight, as I was brushing my teeth, I saw one glistening in the usual spot - right next to my part. When I separated it from the rest, I saw that this was no ordinary gray hair. This was the longest gray hair I have ever seen! Why was today the first time I saw it? So, what did I do? I went to show John, of course. He agrees it's amazing, and then just reaches up, plucks it out, and hands it back to me. Men. They waste no time in solving a problem. What if I wasn't done marveling at it yet? Oh, well. With it in my hand, I decided it must be measured. Unbelievably, that shiny, wirey, kinky, "little" gray hair was a tad over nine inches long. Yep. Like my mother, and hers before her, I'll be gray by 30, white by 40. Ugh.
I cling to this passage...
"Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained by a righteous life."
Proverbs 16:31