Choppity Chop

Bitty has been growing out her hair for a good two years now.  Her last haircut was on the same day Skippidy gave herself a little haircut, which was thankfully redesigned into a darling little bob by my friend Jeannie the super-stylist.  Bitty wanted in on the action that day and got a cute shoulder-length cut that hasn't been touched since. That was two Januaries ago.  I don't think it was long after that that she started talking about growing out her hair and that she wanted it to be so long that she could sit on it.  We almost made it.  Her hair grows pretty quickly and by the beginning of this month it really was almost down to her waist.  And oh the struggles we have had over the past two years.  I didn't actually want her to cut it, but the hair brushing did pretty much become a total and complete nightmare.  Many many tears were shed.  Thank heavens Troy was almost always around to lend his hands to Bitty for her to squeeze while mean old mom brushed away.  And of course it just got worse.  It was not so fun to take care of.  I will also say, however, that I absolutely loved it.  When it was clean and shiny and hanging down into little ringlets down her back I just loved that silky mass. I thought she'd never cut it.

So it was quite a surprise when Bitty very suddenly started insisting that she wanted a hair cut.  A drastic one.  A short bob.  I can't remember if there was some sort of suggestion made that she just latched on to or if she brought it up, but somehow a couple of weeks ago she insisted that she was ready.   That was fine with me.   Well, MOSTLY fine.  I was going to be a little sad to let those long fat braids go, but since I'd also be losing the weepy brushing sessions, it seemed worth it.  I did make her think about it over several days.  I had a bad feeling that I'd take her to get her hair cut and the second the braid was gone she'd burst into tears and feel heartbroken after all.

After probably a full week Bitty finally had me convinced.  We called up Jeannie.  We found out how many inches a braid has to be in order for it to be donated to Locks of Love, a foundation that creates wigs for children who can't afford them. Turns out that's about 10 inches.  And Bitty donated 12.

Should I try to convince you that I didn't get just the slightest bit sad as Jeannie bound up Bitty's hair into a tight braid and then hacked it off with a very mean looking pair of scissors?  Because duh, it's me; of course I got a little misty-eyed.  I'm such a sap.  It's pathetic.  You'd think I'd be a bigger fan of Nicholas Sparks movies.  Anyway, once the braid was off and Bitty was flipping her bob around I felt better and knew it was going to be adorable.  And it totally is.  And Bitty hasn't shed a single tear.  She is so happy!