Buzz cut Evie.
Michael helped me cut my long hair off last night. I’d been growing it for Locks of Love - an organization that makes real hair pieces for children with cancer and other illnesses that result in hair loss.
It all started with a dare. I was telling Michael how much my hair has been part of my identity - how I didn’t think I’d be at all attractive with out it. His response was, “Let’s just shave it and get over your fear now then!” That was last April and the spark of a bigger idea. Well, what if I did shave it off?
I’d always wanted to donate my hair….someday. Noticing the grey swiftly creeping in at the temples, I’d better make that someday soon.
Over the last few weeks I began to obsess about where and how I would cut it. I would take it to a salon where an expert would cut it and do something really “cool” with it, I thought. Yesterday, walking home from the bus stop on a crisp, sunny, perfect fall afternoon, I changed my mind.
What kind of message did I want to send my kids? As each of them tumbles head first into the teen years, obsessing about their own hair, looks, - finding their sense of personal identity - there is very little I can say that will make any difference at all to their anxiety. An action is worth more than a thousand words. It becomes, in fact, a story.
I wanted them to understand that for kids it it important to feel normal and accepted. That’s why Locks of Love is such a cool organization. As you grow into adulthood, identity is really how you act in the world - the choices you make, your relationships, and being in service to others. So my husband and I cut the long ponytails off ourselves and he did the rest of the honors with the household clippers. He was sweet and left me a few longer bangs in the front.
Later in the evening, when I caught my stepson in front of the mirror for the 10th time adjusting his hair, I grinned at him, rubbed my own buzzed head and said, “you should just shave it all off like I did!”
“Oh! You really DID shave it off!” Then he looked me over for a minute, tilted his head to the side, smilled, and said, “Hmmm, that’s cool.”
