Hair

I have a lot of it. Big, bushy, curly, long, dark hair. Yes, yes, I know that many people would love to have it, and that "the grass is always greener", and all that jazz. It has taken me many years to come to love it and see it as part of my personality, part of who I am. It's big and unruly much of the time, it seems to take a different shape each day, it truly does have a mind of it's own. But in the end, it's only hair.


Right?


I know I am not the only one who has hair moods. At least I would like to think so, since I don't really need one more thing that makes me (and everyone else) think I might not be making such a slow descent into crazy. It can make you feel fun, serious, sporty, frumpy, silly, sassy (Spice Girls?), all of the above. Sometimes a new 'do can even give you a new lease on life. A little pick-me-up along the way. So what happens when someone loses their hair? It might seem shallow to think that it could make a person feel like they're losing part of themselves, part of their identity, because afterall, it's just hair.


Right?


Lately my locks have been making me feel heavy. Weighed down. I even wake up at night and find half of it wrapped around my neck and think that it might be the cat finally following through on his plan to get rid of me (seriously). I am sure part of it is the Winter Slump we are all feeling here in the Northeast. We are longing for Spring, for the sun to melt the now-brown snow, to warm us up, to get us out on a patio for an outdoor happy hour. The other part might be my automatic reaction to people telling me it's "gotten soooo long!" and then reaching out to touch it, which would be to wear a hat or immediately put it up. I have always had a thing about people touching my hair...much like all the strangers who automatically reach out and touch a pregnant belly without asking if that's okay (it's not, by the way). It's not an interactive display, it's actually attached to my head.  


Anyway, it would seem as though #5 on the list is going to come sooner than I originally expected. I am making myself an appointment in March, and if all goes well, 8 or more inches of this unruly mop will be going to Pantene Beautiful Lengths or Locks of Love (depending on how many inches I can chop). Nothing would make me happier than sharing the wealth of hair I have inherited with someone who is feeling like they need a little pick-me-up or a new lease on life, and in doing that I'll be giving myself the attitude adjustment I feel like my head needs. All this, and it's only hair.