Lots of Love

Several years ago, a dear friend of mind, a true visionary, Lisa, thought that there was something more we could do to ensure our elementary-aged girls were ready for the middle school.  So, with her wonderful guidance and vision, we started a girls club with the 4th and 5th graders where we talked about all sorts of girl stuff while also encouraging girls to grow and cut their hair for Locks of Love.  Locks of Love is an organization which uses donations of real hair to make wigs for children who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.

We also talk about self-esteem, staying healthy, friendships, ways to stand up for yourself and even some of the best comebacks that help you keep your class at the same time!  In May, at our last meeting, a hair stylist comes to the school for our "Cut Day" party.  It is probably one of my favorite events of the year.  The girls who are cutting are nervous and excited, with family and friends around to support them.  The girls are cheered on (and I do mean cheered!) by the other girls in the club.  The amount of positive comments and support the girls share with one another is absolutely beautiful, and inspiring.

The first year we did this, a young friend of one of the girls cutting her hair picked up a piece of chalk and wrote "Lots of Love" on the sidewalk, thinking that that had been the name of our club the whole time.  We saw it and couldn't help but change the name of our club because it is truly about "lots of love."

When I was younger, in fact, through college, my hair was very long, it hung to my waistband.  When I finally decided to cut it, I decided I wanted to cut the ten inches required to make the donation to Locks of Love.  I did it again the next year, and kept a short hair cut for about four years.  Then, I let it get long.  In fact, I haven't had a haircut in two years besides the small trims that I do along the way.

I'm not sure what exactly gave me the "hair-cut bug," but I decided to go with it!  I researched organizations here and found one similar to Locks of Love: Little Princesses.  There is no guarantee that my hair will be given to a cancer patient, but it will be used to make wigs, some of which go to cancer patients, and no matter what, the donation of my hair, helps to financially support these wigs.

I went to a local hair salon this afternoon and was unsure of how the stylist would respond, since my hair needed to be cut in a certain way and I knew I'd require more time than they had anticipated.  They were fabulous!  They were very supportive, kind and curious about my drastic change - they even took photos while the pony tails were being cut off.

My hair is a little shorter than I had planned, but it is only hair, and I know it will grow.  It's also pretty amazing thinking about my hair helping to make a child who is struggling to live, smile when they look in the mirror.  After all, the smile of a child one of the most beautiful things on this earth.