Going to Great Lengths

Over the weekend I bit the bullet and had 9.5 inches of my hair chopped off. I had decided this spring to grow it out long enough that I could make a donation to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program, which makes & donates wigs to patients who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments. I just figured if I was going to cut off 6 inches, I might as well grow it out for a few more months and cut off 8 so it could be of use to someone else. I enjoyed having it long, but I was ready for a change. It was hard to take care of and took forever to dry. Tangles were a daily battle, especially if I went for a run and forgot to braid my ponytail. And the worst thing about really long hair and 3 small kids is that there seemed to be a chunk of something - food, spit-up, pirate swords, etc - constantly caught in my hair. So I was over it, but found myself surprisingly nervous as the stylist cut my ponytail off. I like the new 'do, and it has been clear of all foreign matter all weekend, and so I think it's a change for the better. And hopefully my donation will make someone else feel better. And yes, I did make sure the ponytail was chunk-free before mailing it in.