No Hair Day

It's finally here....no hair day!  Okay, that's not quite true, as we only cut it down to 1/8 inch, so there's technically still hair there, but you know what I mean.  The concept of losing my hair was something that concerned me for the kids' sake.  Of course, I also had a tinge of vanity in there too...what if my head is funny-shaped?  What if my features look oddly proportioned?  What if I look extra chubby (darn baby weight!)  And you never know how something like that will affect you psychologically, so I tried to prepare myself for any kind of reaction.  But, ultimately, to me, hair is just hair, so I decided to cut it off for a few reasons:

First, I'm going to end up losing it anyway in the next couple of days, with the chemo treatment I'm on, and since it's pretty long, I wanted to donate it to Locks of Love.

Second, I'm not personally feeling like I need to take charge and cut my hair myself instead of letting cancer do it, but I really don't think I'm going to feel up to dealing with it when I'm at my worst with the side-effects.  So, for simplicity's sake, I wanted to deal with it now, when I'm feeling my best (just in case I had some severe emotional reaction to seeing myself without hair.)

Third, I figured it would be a good way to include the kids, and turn something potentially scary for them, into something more meaningful and fun.

And, just for the record, I didn't have any severe emotional reaction.  I wasn't really thrilled about it when Brad was holding that clippers up to my head (I kept pulling away, even though I wanted it done...it's funny how your body just takes over sometimes), but I actually don't mind the hairlessness as much as I feared I would.  I'm the same person.  I'm the same height, the same body type, I have the same facial features (well, my nose seems a bit bigger!), but it's still me.

I guess not getting your hair cut for a year adds up after awhile.

Lets get this over with!

Brendan and I.

 Brendan cut the first ponytail. 

My hair...on the table.  So. weird. 

Brendan, demonstrating his cutting technique (and I can't control my reaction to pull away from a 5-year-old with a scissors near my head!)

It's all hacked off...now time for a buzz.

Megan was interested in the process, but didn't want to take part.  She danced to her music in the other room for awhile, then slowly crept in to watch the excitement.

Let the buzzing begin!  Brad is contemplating moonlighting as a barber.

Brendan was our photographer, and he made sure to get the haircut from all angles.

It's all done!  Not so bad.

Brad thought having a buzzed wife was pretty funny.  Ha.  Ha.  I never thought I'd have shorter hair than my husband.  

My Family:

I was so happy with our decision to involve the kids in this.  Brendan had a great time cutting and being the photographer...and he loves running his hands over the stubble when he's sitting with me.  Megan was interested in everything, but didn't want to take part.  Afterwards she gave me a hug, felt my head and giggled about how soft and pokey it is, and declared that she loved it.  Emily didn't bat an eye when I got her out of the crib for the day, which was a huge relief for me.  Brad was secretly the most concerned about the cutting of the hair, but he's also the one who seems to like it to most.  No "wings" tickling him when we cuddle and no 25-minute showers.  I was surprised at how light and free my head felt, and at how much I didn't mind it.  My head gets a little cooler than usual, but I just wear a winter hat around and that's doing the job.  I didn't want to get too much into wigs and wraps and such, until I knew how my reaction would be.  And, honestly, I'm still going to wait a little bit, because having a completely bald head may affect me differently than just having stubble.  So, we'll wait a couple days until it falls out and see how I feel.

The Future:

Looks Beautiful!