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Monday, July 2, 2012

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow {Guest Post}

A guest post by Anne Persin, or, as she is known in these parts, Tante Anne.
 
I got to spend most of today with my favorite Superman Sam. There were highs and there were lows, but, for the most part, it was a pretty normal day for him. For me, not so much!
 
You see, every couple of years I go from having obnoxiously long hair to very little hair. I do not do this because I love having short hair (although it is fun!) I do not do this because I love making a spectacle out of myself (well, maybe a little bit!). I do this because with just a couple of snips I can make a big difference in a kid's life. You see, every couple of yours, I donate my hair to Locks of Love.
 
For any of you who have seen me any time within the past 4 months, you know, I was WAY overdue for my cutting but something was always getting in my way.  It wasn't the right time;  my friend, who I wanted to do the cutting, was out of town; I needed a good spectacle moment (who me!?)
 
Then, last week, Sam started losing his hair. I cried. (I'm about to start crying again.)  It's not that Sam had such thick and full hair (no, that would be David!)  Rather, losing his hair was one more sign that he has cancer. I cried. And I thought: it's time. I need to chop off my hair.  
 
So, today I went up to the hospital ready and willing to let Sammy cut off my hair.
 
That's right, I let a six-year-old chop off my hair!
 
Don't start thinking I let him just cut, willy-nilly! Phyllis pigtailed my hair (yes, rabbis can have pigtails!)  I then added a second band to each pigtail and then braided both. (This way, Sammy would know where he could cut and we could keep control of the hair once it was cut.) 


Here's the interesting thing: while he was excited to cut my hair, he was kind of upset once it was cut off. He told me I couldn't come visit him til it grew back! So Phyllis and I were talking later and we suppose Sammy really wants everything to stay as "normal" as possible. He doesn't want everything changing because of him or, even, just for him.    
 
Change is scary.  Even when it's just hair.    

With gratitude to Dana Decker for her amazing skills in turning Sam's chop-job into something adorable!

7 comments:

  1. very special
    empowerment and a mitzvah

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  2. Such a wonderful thing to do and I'm sure Sammy enjoyed it while it was happening at least

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  3. Love it, you look perfect for summer. and I love Micheal holding your braids to his head! Now buy yourself a hat!

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  4. You look great! Big hugs to you and Sam! I, too, love the pic of Michael and the braids! :-)

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  5. rabbi's can have pigtails...awesome...I actually laughed aloud...

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  6. In my best Billy Crystal voice, "You Look Mahvelous"! How selfless of you! Beautiful!

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  7. I love it. You look even more beautiful. And what you gave Sam is priceless.

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