A hairy situation! ;)

My hair has been driving me crazy.

I have thick brown hair that used to be "naturally wavy," but with each pregnancy it got curlier and curlier, such that now I am "naturally curly." TOO naturally curly for me (I've always wished for perfectly straight, long hair.) I haven't paid too much attention to my hair lately - just pull the front up into a barrette, let it dry, and go. But, it keeps growing...and growing...so that lately I can barely brush through it, there's so darn much.

I've been wanting to get it shorter, but with as much as I'd like to cut off, it seemed like such a waste to just throw it away. So, I decided to wait until I had enough extra hair to donate to Locks of Love. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the US and Canada with long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. Often these children have lost their hair from alopecia areata or from cancer treatment. Having a high-quality hair prosthesis made from real hair helps boost the self-esteem of these children and lets them feel less self-conscious. A great cause, I think - and many friends of mine have donated their hair to it. To donate to Locks of Love, you need to have a ponytail (or ponytails) of hair with the longest parts at least 10 inches in length.

So...I did it! Tonight, I went to the hair salon and got my hair measured - I had enough to take 10 inches, and leave my hair about chin length. For those of you who know me, you know that's shorter than I've had in a LONG time - probably since I about 32 years ago!!! (For those of you who haven't met me, you can look at our photo album slide show below to see how long my hair USED to be...)

My head feels so light now - it's nice to feel a little bounce when I turn my head. I'm not much for getting in front of the camera, but I took this picture to show you my hair donation:

I told my husband and kids that with my short hair, I fell like I look like a real adult now. My daughter replied cheerily, "Yeah, Mom! You look like you're a grandma!" She meant it in the nicest way (I think...)

I read on the Locks of Love website that 80% of their donations are from kids who want to help other kids. Isn't that fantastic? But, I checked just in case, and yes they ARE willing to weed out my gray hairs for me so they can use the rest. LOL

I hope all of you have a great week!

Hugs,

Jeanie