T-DAY Project for Locks of Love Fulfilled -----Day 24

Wow, what a wonderful day it was today. It was a day devoted to T-Day, or Together We Can Change The World Day and our Locks of Love service project. It was wonderful to take a step back from our normal kind of day.

I will stick to the T-Day portion of our day.

Our project began late in the afternoon after I picked up my son and his friend at school. We came home to my house after Big Z decided it would be most fun to have my hair cut by him, but he also decided that it would be better for him to do it with our friends. (I can understand this --- I mean, who in their right mind would want to help their Mom shave off their hair, even if for kids who don't have any, when you're freaked out about it all by yourself???? Smart boy!)

As you know from our previous post, last Sunday, our other T-Day project was helping our friends prepare their garden space. By late evening, Big Z was asking for us to cut my hair right then and there, but it was already bedtime . . . and since they have 3 children instead of one, we chose to await another day.

His disappointment was noticed, along with his fatigue. It was time for bed, for both of us. On the drive home, I assured him I would do whatever it took to find a time when we could all take turns cutting my hair.

As it happened, our schedules matched today! YEAH!

Our Mom friend, C, arrived shortly after us with her two boys. We were a bit late in starting the project, and, we knew our time limit fast approached when Big Z would have to depart with his Dad to his last soccer practice. So, after a quick snack was provided for the two boys, we got to work with a wooden stool placed in the middle of my living room, a pair of professional scissors, and, an electric shaver that has gotten little use on my legs, but a lot of use as I trim the back of Big Z's hair when I cut it, a bunch of small hair bands, and a plastic bag to put the hair into for mailing.

C also took out a bag with some hats in it. Two were ones she had shown me earlier in the week. One was a very girly straw hat with pastel flowers around the brim . . . mmmm . . . so not me. The other was a lovely hat made by her husband's mother. She makes knitted hats for cancer patients all the time and this is one she'd given to C. And then, she pulled out a cute powdery blue knitted cap with a four-strand fuzzy yard woven around the bottom edge, as a strip that went around the middle, and as a little top knot. It was beautiful. And my heart was very grateful for her gift ;-).


We set about our task. C ponied my hair into many pig-tails, including my bangs. I felt a bit like Pippi Longstalking, only my ponies didn't have the same rigid capacity to stand perpendicular to my head as hers did, well, except for my bangs that stood at attention!

Big Z got to take the first swath through my bangs with the shaver. As he got started, he set his jaw and began pulling and tugging at my bangs while deeply cutting under my hair to my scalp. My head was vibrating like it had a jack-hammer on top of it and I endured the loud buzzing in my ears. With each tug of my hair and growl of the shaver, he would move it into another position. Eventually the mass of hair was freed and I had a most amazing white patch above my forehead.

Big Z held my bangs out from my head as if he held a dead animal. I looked at its tangled mass of dark hair mixed with white powder (Hmm, must be from my dry scalp, eh?). I took it from him and thought, "Well now. If all my hair comes off like this, I don't know that Locks of Love will want to take it! We better let C try and see if she can do better."

We all ooh'd and ahh'd my white spot and my friend looked at me with grave concern on her face after I looked in the mirror. She said, "We can stop now. We don't have to go through with this if you don't want to, you know!"

She had been checking in with me all week, asking me to be sure of my commitment, in spite of it being for a good cause. As I'd mentioned before, she really hadn't wanted to be THE ONE to cut my hair, but she ultimately said, "I will do it for you if you really want me to. Only if you're sure."

So, I told her, "Of course. We can't stop now! What? With a bald spot right here? Let's get to it!"

She took a turn with the shaver and we learned that it really wasn't going to be the tool to get my long hair off my scalp. We decided it would be best to use the scissors to cut the hair off and then we'd even it all up at the end with the shaver.

And so began the journey of my patchwork quilt head. As each child took their turns, they looked both surprised, awed, and horrified! As more and more pony-tails came off my head and lay lifeless on a desk, I finally asked my friend if she was getting more comfortable yet, feeling a little less apprehensive about the whole ordeal.

C replied, "Oh, yes. I'm getting into this now. I can't wait until the kids are done so I can really get in there! I'm excited about it now!"

Cool.

Big Z got to cut the most at the start due to his needed to leave. Then older sister, A, got to help. We compared her locks to mine and she quietly stepped away. The boys both wanted at their turn, so, first L got to take his snips. And, then D got to take his little toddler snips, with Mom's help, thankfully ;-). I had hair of all different lengths around my head and a mass of ponies on the desk.

C's tune had shifted and when her turn came, she got in there as if she owned my head. She cut, cut, cut and said, "This is fun! You look like you have a terraced garden on your head with each scissor cut!"

I took my hand and felt the manicured hair. Interesting.

Eventually, Big Z's Dad arrived and watched a bit, not wanting to partake of the affair, but adding his blessing. Big Z got to take one last cut and took a pix with me, and then we hugged and he had to go. Oh, how he must've felt to have to leave right then . . . So, I asked his Dad to please bring him back by after soccer so he could see the finished product. He said he would.

C got back at and before we knew it, all my long locks of hair were finally gone.

C got the shaver and began the arduous task of getting the rest of the hair off my head. She was so into it by this time, there was no stopping her intensity and focus. She leaned into my head with the shaver and once again my head vibrated with jack-hammer bounces as the roar of the shaver got ever louder in my ears. She'd push and pull and shave and push and pull and shave and tried to make a dent in the think mane still attached to my head.

As she got about 1/3 of the hair off, and beginning to feel a little exhausted, we wondered if there was another way. We talked about clippers, and then we talked about a razor. I mentioned that the razor idea, you know, may be one that I wouldn't want to try especially if my head broke out with rash, or with ingrown hair . . . That wouldn't be fun! So, C dove in again with the shaver.

Then the boys got a turn with the shaver. A opted out. Each of the boys rat-a-tat-tatted upon my scalp as I leaned over for them to reach my head, all the while plugging my ears from the obnoxious sound of the shaver. C worked and worked until she said, "Nothing is coming off now. It's just not cutting."

I queried, "Maybe now that it's been on so long, even though I charged the battery, it's just losing its charge." I knew we had far too much hair to go for the battery to give out already!!! I offered up the solution: "I have a razor and I have three new blades. Want to try it? Guess it's our only option right now."

She said, "Okay. Let's try it." And we did. She added, "Do you have shaving cream?"

We went to the bathroom, fitted a new blade to the razor, and got to work, lathering my scalp with any viscous solution I had, for no, I did not have shaving cream . . . and I smelled the aroma of my Grandfather's shaving cream blasting into my nose from my childhood memories.

I leaned over the sink and C went to shaving . . . or at least attempted the task of shaving. My hair was so thick at the scalp, there was just no taking it off! She worked and worked and finally said, "Okay. That's it. I'm going to the store and getting some clippers."

We went to Big Z's Foundation Mall and went to Kmart, the store closest to us. We searched for clippers and found that an inexpensive pair wasn't so much. And, we attempted to purchase them online for pick up at the store. Unfortunately, none of the clippers could be picked up at the store. All of them stated they were "online order only". Regardless, C wasn't about to keep doing what she was doing. She was going to take action and get something that would do the job right!

She headed out with her two eldest, and I stayed behind with young D. We set about making a snack as I dropped bits of hair from my head and shoulders with each step I took! We managed some carrots, chips and a cheese sammy and he sipped the blueberry tea we'd already made for him mid-way through our adventure. I gratefully made a cup of hot chocolate, already feeling the chill on my neck and ears, and head!

D and I visited and snacked, and I made extra sammies for the kids, and for Big Z when he arrived. I laughed at my hair in the mirror 'cause by this time I still had hair on one side of my head, was completely shaved on one side of the back of my head, and I was shaved above one ear, looking like a poorly sheared Marine, with a huge bald spot where my bangs had been. What a look! And, I got colder and colder by each passing minute . . . I eventually went and found a ball cap that wouldn't be bothered by a bunch of hair sticking to it and saddled it upon my head. It fell directly to my ears and I had gaps on either side of it, looking even more funny!

I was invited to dinner at a friend's home, to join her Mom and another friend of hers. I wanted to let her know our T-Day project was taking a little longer, so I phoned her. She figured dinner would happen at 6:30, so to come when I was done.

Eventually Big Z arrived back and he took one look at my head and headed right out the door ;-). He got our neighbor boy and began playing soccer. His Dad chose to stay warm in the car and take a cat nap.

Finally, our friend C and her children arrived, and they were joined by her husband, S, who had been curious since he heard about my Locks of Love hair donation the week previous. They got in touch via cell phone and he joined her at Kmart to pick out the clippers --- why? 'Cause he's nice guy AND he can't stand to have hair on his ears! C encouraged him to pick them out so that he could use them, and she could begin to get brave cutting her boys' hair ;-).

The rest of our time was quite a party ~~~ snacks and hair flyin'! A joined Big Z and our neighbor in soccer, and L found our neighbor's little sister. C got right to work shaving the rest of my head with the most quiet bzzz and was delighted at how easily the hair fell from my head. She was ecstatic in fact. Daddy S watched and tossed chips in his mouth and we visited.

I encouraged C to make a T-Day logo on the part of my had that had hair remaining. She didn't feel she had the skill to do the full T-Day on my little head, but she did create a pretty fantastic and unexpectedly created "T". We took a pix of it to show off for Together We Can Change The World Day.

Once the photo of the "T" was done, C kept on with the clippers. By now, Little D was over to use the new clippers. So, I bent down low and he went to work on my head again. A short while later, I was mostly bald, with uneven patches of various lengths depending upon what tool managed to get the closest to my scalp!

It felt really weird to look at myself after this and see my bushy eyebrows. It almost seemed like we should shave those off, too, as they were so glaring. But the comments from everyone was, "Keep the eyebrows! You can't cut them off!" So they remain upon my face.

C was, by now, very comfortable with her husband's new clippers. She was all about getting her sons' hair clipped now . . . and she offered to help her husband get that hair off his ears in a heartbeat. He wasn't a taker . . . not feeling really secure in her newly-gained skills. So, since the only boy she had handy was Little D, well, we sat him in the chair and gave it an attempt.

D's hair is long and straight, and by this time, was standing up over much of his head after his nap earlier in the day. This little kit, we learned, didn't include the tapering teeth, and only had straight teeth. C asked me to show her how to use them, and I did, however, I wasn't about to accidentally take too much off her boy's head and have him look anywhere near like me! After all, I want to remain friends!!!!

So, after a few brush-strokes, we agreed to stop and pack it up. It had already been a very long afternoon. Before the trip to get the clippers happened, a cup of tea was made for C and D. C never did get to enjoy her hot tea, but she didn't complain.

When we got all packed up, C opened the bag with the other hats. I tried on the girly hat for fun, and, no, it just wasn't for me! As I tried to take it off, it stuck, all the coarse hairs left upon my head digging into it as well as my head being a bit too big. I had to have C pull it off my head. It looked great on her!

We went outside to join the kids and Daddy S, who by now had found his way to the mini-soccer field known as our front yard. Big Z's Dad was snoring in his reclined car seat. It was a bit chilly, I admit, even with my ball cap on!

We took pictures with the kids and around the yard. Our neighbor boy marveled at my new look, and it was time to corral the youngsters and get them into vehicles.

What was amazing is when I went outside, I didn't notice that my old Big Truck was in the drive! C's van broke down, and so S took the "extra vehicle" like a Champ and drove it to work, to Kmart, and to our house. It was GREAT to see it, and to hear some about the kind of trucks his company used to have as their work horses. ;-). And I was glad for these stories, 'cause it means that this old truck MAY give him some kind of joy, though in a very different way from C, who will put it to work for her multiple gardens' gain ---well, and for the health of her family!

C was using Daddy's really nice work SUV, and so we loaded Big Sister and brothers into the car. I had warmed up water and made C another cup of hot tea for the road, though she resisted. Snacks were passed around the back seat and they were off!

Big Z joined his Dad in his car after our hugs, and they were off!

I ran my chilled self into the house and dove into the shower to get the millions of pieces of hair that were biting into my skin down the drain (thank you city sewer) and to warm up my stiff neck and shoulder muscles, to bring some heat back to my brain. It was brief, but did the trick. I took a small dab of coconut oil and glazed my scalp while rubbing it in. I think my scalp was happy.

I called my friend who'd invited me to dinner as I was dressing and told her I was almost out the door, but that I had no clue what time it was! They had started their dinner already . . . so you can imagine ;-).

I got dressed and put my beautiful new hat upon my bald head and raced to the car. WOW! It was already almost 8:30 p.m. We spent almost five hours dedicated to the Locks of Love project! And, what a loving and fun project it was!!!

Dinner was fantastic, and the company great. My friend and her Mom loved the new look; their friend I'd not met also had his head shaved . . . he's Korean, and he's new to our town as of last Fall, and he shaves his head because he can't find anyone to cut his hair the way he likes. His advice was: "You need to shave it. When you shave, it's a whole different experience!"

When I left, far too late into the following morning, I was met with the most full and beautiful moon. WOW! I enjoyed it all the way home and gave thanks for such an incredible and bountiful day. I gave my salutations to the moon and wished for a high mountain and a sleeping bag to sleep under the moon's beautiful glowing light . . . another time perhaps.

One last look at the moon and then I came into my house for a look at my head. I decided I'd shave and attempt to get the length that remained even. Hmmmm. No easy task I soon learned.

I used my electric shaver, though the screen broke before I knew it and the teeth likely were what made a little track on my scalp! Then to the new razor blades . . . I shaved and shaved and was amazed at how a man shaves his facial hair all the time . . . It CAN'T be as thick as the hair on the scalp, can it? I was careful in the process . . . and I did feel the pain of a nick . . . Ouch. Fortunately, I survived it. Yes. Believe it or not. I only nicked once.

I bathed and found as I sunk into the hot waters that I was surprised by the cold back to the tub that I'd so often rested my pinned up hair . . . Brrr. Going to have to have a towel there for awhile . . . and then after, I lathered my bald and prickly scalp with coconut oil, sought out Big Z's flamin' blue fleece hat, and then put it on and put a scarf around my neck.

Aaaah, to sleep ;-).

But first, let me express my thanks once again to C for all her efforts today. She was a Champ! And to the children who so willingly helped with a project that was quite alarming and yet wonderful, Big Z, A, D, and L. And to M.J., who so graciously gives beautiful hats to cancer patients on a consistent basis, lending her time, creativity, talent and thoughtfulness. And an additional thanks to M.J. for sharing her gift with me on behalf of my Locks of Love donation. And to S who came by to lend his support and buy the clippers. And to Big Z's Dad who supported Big Z and me in the process. As they say, "It takes a village." Today, surely, the Village helped me with my Locks of Love T-Day Project!!! Whooo-EEEEEeee!