HAIR

Give me a head with hair, long beautiful hair
Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen
Give me down to there, hair, shoulder length or longer
Here baby, there, momma, everywhere, daddy, daddy

Hair, flow it, show it
Long as God can grow, my hair

Let it fly in the breeze and get caught in the trees
Give a home to the fleas, in my hair
A home for fleas, a hive for the buzzing bees
A nest for birds, there ain't no words
For the beauty, splendor, the wonder of my hair

My journey with my hair has been an adventurous one!

The story of my first hair cut has been told to me over and over again. Apparently - when I was four or five my Mom grew increasingly frustrated with me because when she brushed out my long, luxurious curly hair each morning, I complained and shrieked and cried and carried on. I was not the easiest child and one day she said to my oldest sister - “cut it off”! Voila! The bowl cut. Eek!

Elementary school - short hair! High School - long hair! College - medium length hair! Always long enough to pull it into a pony tail though. Colour? Sometimes - brown! Sometimes - blond! Sometimes - reddish!

It’s only hair!

I got it cut short after wearing it long about 15 years ago - just before Zac and Tracy got married. I loved the cut. I loved the streaks of blond in it. I loved everything about that cut. It was sleek and smooth. The problems began when we moved from Cambridge to Westport to Alliston and finally to Kincardine. Any woman reading this blog knows the difficulty of changing hair stylists - finding a new one to cut it exactly like you want it is a rarity.

I love my gal - Dom - in Alliston! What a gem. The first time I went to see her after Randy passed away - Dom cut and coloured and styled my hair for nothing. We wept together. We laughed together. And now - all these years later - I’m back to driving to Alliston every few months for conversations and laughs and a coffee - while she does my hair perfectly - just the way I like it.

The problem (first world) began about 18 months ago when my hair was cut shorter and shorter. (here in Kincardine - not by Dom). “It’s cute” the stylist said. “It’s fun”! “It’s easy”! It was all those things. I could wake up in the morning and not pay one second of attention to it - but it was a quarter inch long. Not sleek. Not smooth. Spiky.

Then three things happened last year to spark a change!

#1. A man bumped into the back of me and he said - “excuse me sir!” I turned around and said “do I look like a sir?” I was devastated. In all fairness to the man who bumped into me, I had a ball cap on my head and you couldn’t see one wisp of my hair, nevertheless I was upset.

#2. I sprained my knee and all the sports I usually enjoyed all summer long were put on hold. I went to physiotherapy two or three times a week and eventually was able to cycle and get back to the gym. No pickle ball. No golfing. No walking the beach. (My attitude was good though! I didn’t complain.)

#3. My brother, Ted, passed away after a very short journey with stomach cancer. We had been in Florida for the month of January and Ted told us he was not feeling the greatest but he thought it was a bout of diverticulitis. Ted and Irene went home early and after a few tests in early February, Ted was diagnosed with cancer. He fought it bravely but by the time it was discovered, it was too late. His body was ravaged by it. Our tight-knit family was grieved - once again!

I realized - once again - that there are a lot of things in this life that we can’t control - but one thing I could control was the length of my hair. I decided - then and there - to grow it long once again.

Growing your hair is a process. It’s slow and painful and most days when it reaches a certain length, it really looks awful!!!!

At the beginning of last summer - my hair was only a quarter inch long. Over the next few months - it grew longer and curlier!

The fall and winter were a different matter. I wore toques and ball caps almost every day when I didn’t want to deal with the crop of wildness growing on the top of my head! But persevere I did.

A year later I can make a tiny pony tail. My hair blows in the breeze when I drive my car. It hangs below my ball cap! I love it.

I totally understand that lasting beauty is not found in a makeup kit or shampoo and conditioner or a haircut or the gym or anything on the outside. I do believe that lasting beauty is found in character, kind words and actions, humility and gentleness. I also remember that many of the Biblical women that I have read about and studied over the years, had inner as well as outer beauty. I know that their outer beauty came from what was inside. My Mom used to say - what is in your heart shows on your face and demeanour. If you harbour hate and bitterness and a mean spirit inside - guess what will show on your face. Even the texture of your hair will be brittle if your heart is not at peace.

There is a story in the Old Testament about a women named Jael. (You can read her story in the book of Judges). She does a great thing for God’s chosen people! She won the war for the Israelites and Deborah and Barak make up a song about her! “When the warriors/leaders let down their hair in Israel, they let it blow wild in the wind and then the people come forward to bless their God.” The word translated as warriors and leaders is in the feminine. This song is about women with flowing hair - women in leadership.

As my hair has grown longer this past year, I’ve thought about this verse and felt the joy of my hair blowing in the wind - the feeling of joy at being a woman - a strong woman.

A scene from “Lord of the Rings” comes to mind as well. It is when Eowyn’s character is fighting the evil Lord of the Nazgul. The Lord of Nazgul, unaware that Eowyn is female, tells her “no man can kill me.” Eowyn takes off her helmet to show her long blond hair and says “I am no man”before she drives her sword into the Lord of Nazgul, clearly reminiscent of Jael.

I’m glad I made the decision to grow my hair long again. I feel different. I won’t be mistaken as a “sir” again. I feel more feminine. I feel the strength in the glory of my hair.

My long hair is my new super power!