The Button Man

If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it.

~Wanda Sykes

I should have been ecstatic. I was newly married and had a wellpaying job at a stock-brokerage firm. I was surrounded by good friends and lived in one of the most beautiful cities in the country. But I didn’t feel fulfilled. Every day, after coming home from work, I was miserable. The work itself was fine. My co-workers were wonderful. I just didn’t feel like I was doing what I was supposed to be doing.

After a few weeks and many discussions with my husband, he asked “The Question.” If I could do anything in the world I wanted to do, what would it be? Without hesitation, I blurted out, “I’d be a hairstylist!” He looked at me quizzically.

I was a receptionist at a hair salon when I was a teenager. I loved that job! The majority of my tasks were menial. I folded towels, made coffee, and restocked shelves. I swept hair from the floor. But, most of the time, I did what I loved best. I listened and talked to people all day long! We talked about everything. I learned about their families. Their work. Their home life. Their spouses. Their children. I loved it. Every bit of it.

Some stories were happy. Some were sad. Some clients talked because they lived alone and had no one else to talk to all day. I was always happy to listen.

But at the job I had, there was none of that. I worked with numbers. And computers. And papers. Lots and lots of papers.

And so it went. Every day, I went to work. Every day, I came home feeling unfulfilled. And each night, I thought more and more about switching careers. At the end of each daydream session, I talked myself out of the idea. It was too much work to start a new career. I would be crazy to give up my well-paying job with health insurance. I would have to go to school again. It would take too long to build a clientele. The cons outweighed the pros by a zillion!

I had all but forgotten about my wish to become a stylist until I had a dream one night.

I dreamt that I was washing a woman’s hair. We were chatting away about something I don’t recall. I brought her back to my chair to wrap the cape around her, and I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I had a giant smile on my face. I felt happier than I had in a long time.

When I woke, the feeling stayed with me—until I remembered that I had to get up and go to work at a job that was the opposite of what I had just dreamt of.

The dream happened three nights in a row. On the third morning, I felt worse than ever, waking to the realization that I had to go to work. I dragged myself out of bed, showered, dressed, and went to work. This time, I stopped at the shop across the street from work to grab a coffee. They called my name, and I picked up my coffee. I headed out the door and waited for the walk sign. As I stood there, a man came and stood next to me. He was quite a character. He was dressed in a black suit, a white T-shirt, and a black baseball cap. His jacket and cap were covered in buttons that said things like, “Have a nice day!” “Keep smiling!” and “Just say yes!”

He caught me looking, and I gave a quick half-smile. He made eye contact and said, “Do it!”

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“You’ve been thinking about it, so just DO IT!” he said more emphatically this time.

The walk sign came on, and he crossed the street.

Was this strange man able to read my mind? Did he know about the dream that I had had for the last three nights? I stood there, coffee in hand, with my mouth open. And just like that, a switch in my head flipped. I was going to be a hairstylist.

I gave notice that same month, went back to school full-time, and in less than a year was working behind the chair. The very first week of work, after shampooing a woman’s hair, I walked her over to my styling chair and caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Just as in my dream, I had a giant smile on my face. I was happier than I’d been in a long time. But this time, I didn’t have to wake up. This time, I was living my dream. I lived my dream for over twenty years—thanks to a dream and the Button Man.

— Crescent LoMonaco —