Locks of Love

Last night, Becca did a very generous thing. She cut off all her beautiful hair and is donating it to an organization called Locks of Love that makes wigs for children with cancer. She had heard of the organization and announced last fall that she was going to grow her hair long and donate it. As a nine year old, it surprised me that she was so determined. Not once in the last year has she ever considered changing her mind. Ever so often, we would get out the ruler and measure her ponytail to see how long it was getting... five inches, then seven, then nine. When it got to the required ten inches, we scheduled our appointment and then Louie ended up in the hospital so we had to postpone the Big Day.

So last night, we went to the salon with our Locks of Love instructions, a camera and a plastic bag in hand. Our friend Crystal is a hairdresser and she measured not once, but three times to make sure we had the right length. Everyone in the shop grinned as Becca squealed when Crystal began to cut off her ponytail. Becca couldn't get over the fact that she had worked for over a year to grow out her hair and it was all gone in about 30 seconds.

Crystal quickly trimmed up her hair into a cute little style that I think suits her bubbly personality. When I asked Becca if she missed her hair, she said she wasn't going to miss the tangles. When she left for school this morning, I almost had to look at her twice to recognize her. She looks far too grown up now. But aside from how she looks, I'm more proud that on her own, she took it on herself to think about someone else, commit to help them and then stick to her commitment over a long period of time (even while I was brushing tangles out of her hair). I will never cease to be amazed at how much I have to learn from my kids.

Here are some pictures of the before, during and after, along with a picture of Becca with our frined, Crystal.