My golden locks

Today was a big day for me. I got my hair cut. That may not seem like anything out of the ordinary, but I have been growing my hair for long time. I had 11" of hair cut off, and donated it to Locks of Love. While I have been growing my hair out for 2 1/2 years, the idea of donating my hair didn't occur to me until a few months ago. It started innocently enough in the winter of 2006-2007. I had just had my third baby boy, and was tired of spending 4 hours and $200 at the hair salon every 3-4 months. So, I decided to let my hair grow out. I stopped highlighting it, and started letting it grow. I went from getting a hair cut every 6-8 weeks, to once every 6 months. It was incredibly liberating. Right from the get go, it seemed like a win-win situation. I spent less time and money at the hair salon, and my longer hair required much less daily styling. I had about 2-3 inches cut off every 6 months, which still allowed for substantial, but gradual growth. (My best guess is that my hair grows about 6-8 inches a year.) I didn't really give much thought to my hair again until this Spring, after the birth of my fourth son Theo. Then, I started to feel like my hair was getting too long, and was in the way. It was a combination of having really long hair during the warmer months for the first time, and having a baby who spit up a lot. Somehow, Theo always seemed to spit up right into my hair. I was finally feeling like the time had come to go back to a short style. One day, out of the blue, I saw a friend's post on Facebook. Her 7 year old daughter had just gotten 8" cut off of her hair, and donated it to Locks of Love. Suddenly, the idea was born. Before I read Carrie's post, my only notion of donating hair was from the Gift of the Magi stories. I had never heard of anyone doing it in real life. But, at that point, it was still just an idea, and I tucked it away. A few weeks later, I ran into someone who had babysat for us once, a long time ago. I hadn't seen her in a while, and I barely recognized her because her hair was so much shorter than it had been. I commented on her new style, and she mentioned that she had just had her hair cut off to donate to Locks of Love. The wheels started spinning again. I did some research online, and was pretty much off and running at that point. I had planned to wait until September, when my hair would be an inch or so longer, and the kids would be back in school (and I would have more free time to get my hair cut without four boys in tow.) But, my body had something else in mind. About two weeks ago, I noticed that my hair was starting to fall out, signaling my entry into that lovely post-partum phase that seems to be as much fun and make as much sense as the non-stop vomiting of early pregnancy. So, I decided to accelerate my plan, and went and got my hair cut today! It feels great, and I don't mind it being super short at all. I actually have a much harder time, mentally, looking myself in the mirror and seeing my hair dark (my natural color, which thankfully enabled me to qualify as a hair donor - you can't donate bleached hair,) than seeing it short. I do find myself running my fingers through my hair pretty much constantly, and feeling the back of my (bare) neck. But, I'm already off and running again. I plan to grow my hair back out immediately, trimming off only the bare minimum. In 2 years I should have enough for my next donation. Care to join me?