About two months ago while the kids and I were working at the food pantry, where we volunteer, one of the other pantry workers looked at my daughter and asked me, “Is she getting split ends?”  I looked at her like she had fifteen heads and asked, “How should I know, I’ve been bald all of my life.”  Of course, the other gal chuckled, as did everyone else.

A few days later, I asked my Aunt to take a look at Sister’s hair and tell me if she was getting split ends.  She did look, and told me that Sister could stand to have a haircut.  She went on to tell me that Sister’s hair would look healthier, fuller, grow faster, etc, etc.  Blah. Blah. Blah.

<—This little girl has beautiful long hair… and a mommy that is a life long baldie!  Which obviously means she CANNOT have a haircut until she is at least five.  Right?  Oh, come on now, don’t tell me you’ve never lived vicariously through one of your children!  My daughter gets to wear all the pretty hair bows, barrettes, ribbons, head bands, and hairstyles that I never could.  Whether she likes it or not.

Just kidding.

Well, mostly.

Anyway, as time went on, I started noticing that Sister’s hair was looking fuzzy, or whatever. It just wasn’t looking so pretty.

So, I finally choked it up and took her to a salon to get her hair trimmed on September 17, 2011.  Trimmed.  Not cut!  I told the stylist about the split ends conversation, and she was kind enough to show me what a split end looks like.  Yes, I had to be shown.  Anyway, I went on to tell the stylist, “I don’t want her hair cut.  Just trim it.  A quarter inch, half at the most.”  She smiled, and said, “Are you sure, Mom?”  I insisted that a half inch was all that I was comfortable with.

You can see, Sister was about as thrilled as I was.

The stylist did exactly as I asked her to, and trimmed about a quarter inch from Sister’s hair.  Once the deed was done, we left, and I thought we were good for another two years.  Right?  Wrong.

Last week, I started noticing Sister’s hair getting fuzzy again.  Well, I guess it was just getting fuzzier.  In truth, when I had it trimmed, I didn’t allow the stylist to cut enough off.  So, that visit was really just a photo-op.  Some people would say that I should have known better.  But I ask you, how?  How was I supposed to know?  I don’t have hair, so I don’t know stuff from shinola about hair, other than how to braid it.  I once had to ask someone, shamefaced no doubt, how to be able to tell if I had gotten all of the conditioner out of Sister’s hair.  So, no, I didn’t know any better.

But, I didn’t want to take her back to the salon.  I would say it was because I didn’t want to spend the money, but the truth is, I just didn’t want to admit that I was wrong.  So, after thinking about it for a few days, I decided I would try to cut it myself.  I only cut about an inch and a half off, but the difference is absolutely amazing.  Her hair looks healthier, and it no longer looks fuzzy, or frizzy.  Since it has natural curl to it, the under layer sort of springs up, and makes the top layer look fuller.

Just like my Aunt (and everyone else, for that matter) said it would.

For whatever reason, I waited until after my in-laws left yesterday to cut her hair.  I should have done it while they were here, then they would have been able to see it first hand.  One of the joys of having children is seeing the sense of wonder on your own parents face when the kids do something new, cute, or funny.  It always amazes me that they can be so enthralled by something that they have obviously seen before (um, like when you were a kid).  Nevertheless, it does enthrall them, and that is cool.  Since Hubs parents live four hours away, it can be challenging, making sure they get their fill of new, cute, and funny.  I do send pictures, but sometimes their email kicks the email if I try to send big files.  So, I have to open the files in my photo editing software, reduce the size, save them with an alternate file name (so I don’t lose the original), and then send them.  Or I upload them here, or to one of my social media sites, where my Mother-in-Law can see them and share them with my Father-in-Law and Sister-in-Law.  This has worked out beautifully for photos, but I haven’t quite figured out how to share the videos yet.

I did blog one of the videos, because I know that my Mother-in-Law checks my site for new posts daily.  I knew that by blogging it, she would be able to view it and get her chuckles on.  I’ve also been known to burn a ton of photos onto a DVD and just give it to her when I see it, but sometimes feel like that is cheating, because she doesn’t get the benefit of seeing them as they happen.  KWIM?

What I need is a simple way to share files that doesn’t require a lot of tech savvy.  After all, it is their son that is the tech geek (remember, I married him for his geekery), not them.

Until then, I will continue to use this site to enthrall them.

<—”Hey Granny,” says Sister, “Mommy cutted my hair with the skizzers.  Aren’t I so pretty?”

I’ve also recently been told that to help minimize hair damage, I should start at the bottom when brushing Sister’s hair.  I, of course, don’t understand why this advice wasn’t given to me about two and a half years ago, but anyway.  When I mentioned it in conversation to someone else, they said that it isn’t necessary.  So, I don’t know which it is.  Do I start at the bottom, or not?  Somebody help a bald mommy out here.  Her little girl, who has beautiful hair and wants to keep it that way, would really appreciate it.