A Very Rewarding Experience

I donated my hair last Friday.  It was a long time coming, and this is the story...

When I was in high school, I remember watching the Today Show.  Ann Curry had a segment of how she and her daughter (and her daughters friends) donated their hair to Locks of Love.  It left me feeling that I wish I could do that.  The hair donated goes to make wigs for children who lose their hair due to cancer treatments and other children who have alopecia.  As the years went by, I either couldn't do it because I died my hair, or my hair wasn't long enough, and I was afraid to have my hair short.  When I was in the fifth grade, I had my hair cut short, and there were really little children who asked, "Are you a boy or a girl?"  This was horrifying for a young girl!

Well, I have been thinking again on the matter of donating my hair, and there was a news article from the Today Show congratulating Ann Curry for her fifteen years on the show.  They showed fifteen clips of her throughout the years.  One of them was when she donated her hair...  I took this as a sign because I have been thinking so much about that particular clip for the past few weeks.  I made the appointment for last Friday.  I walked in, and the hair dresser got me all ready for it, and cut off ten inches of my hair.  I was very prepared, and it felt wonderful!  She also cut and styled my hair in a way that I LOVE.  That was just a bonus.  

I never intended on posting  picture of myself on my blog, but I am going to post a picture of my hair. :)  I feel like if anyone comes across this blog and reads about my story and sees my donated hair, it may hopefully motivate them to do it as well.

I also must admit that I loved playing with my hair, but once I made the decision to donate it, I couldn't wait to get rid of it because I knew there were children out there who could possible benefit from it, and feel the confidence that may be lacking.

If you are interested, you can visit:  www.locksoflove.org
 

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...

Letter to me...

I am sitting at my desk, and I am listening to a Brad Paisley song.  I complete forgot about it, and how much I loved it.  It's called, "Letter to me".  In this song, he writes to himself when he was 17.  He gives advice on school, girls, and family.  It is really sweet.  You all should youtube it if you've never heard it.  Me being 17 years old was only ten years ago, but even now, I feel like I can relate to the lyrics.

If I could write a letter to myself back then, what would I say?  What wisdom would I impart?  I think I would say something like this:

* Don't worry so much about what your peers think of you.

*When people aren't nice, don't let it hurt you so badly.  You will be so much happier sooner that you can   

  imagine.

* Yes, you will marry the man of your dreams, so don't worry 

   about that. :)

* Keep writing.  It will help you more than you know.

* Ask Grandpa Lester as many questions as you can, and 

   write down all of his stories and advice.

* It's not the end of the world if you get a bad grade.  Just do 

   the best you can.

* Don't worry about disappointing others.  

* It's okay if you make mistakes and people call you on it.  If 

   anything, it will help you learn more about yourself.

* Don't be so quiet your Senior year.  At the end of the year, 

   you will have realized that there were some great people 

  you missed out on knowing.  Keep this advice your whole 

  life.

* Pay attention to your sisters advice about the clothes you 

   should/shouldn't wear.  They really know what's best.

* There will be a boy who kicks the chair out from  

   underneath  you in front of the whole class.  Instead of 

   hitting him (it was a girly hit, not a punch), think of a really 

   good zinger, and let it go.

* Don't worry about the friends who stopped talking to you 

   your freshmen year because of one mean girl.  You will  

   make  the best friends of your life very soon afterwards and 

   be so much happier.

* Remain positive and continue to stay true to yourself.  

* Practice standing up for yourself.

* Don't be discouraged when people tell you that high school 

   are the best years of your life.  You will have an 

   okay time in high school, but your life afterwards will be 

   filled with a lot of great experiences and happiness.

What would you say if you could write a letter to yourself?  To be honest, I don't dwell on these things, but after listening to that song, it really made me wonder on the subject.  Even though that time of my life was only about ten years ago, there has been a lot that's happened in that time frame.  I look forward to what the following years have in store for me.

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...

Being a Kid Again

I completely missed last weeks post (did anyone miss me?).  I had a very busy week, and it completely slipped my mind...

Not much to report this week.  I can't think of anything too earth shattering, but I do want to share about an experience I had yesterday.

At my church, I teach in the Sunday school for the eight year olds.  Since this is a relatively new class and age group for me, I was suggested to have them over to my house so as to bond with them outside of church.  I had a lot of fun preparing, but I also did a lot of the preparations last minute (why do I do that?).  By the time they showed up, there were snacks on the table, balloons on the walls and on our door, fun paper plates, cups and napkins, and a festive red table cloth (made of plastic).  They came and we did an activity with construction paper, then when they all showed up, we played six games.  At the end of each game, they got to read a clue, and the clue led them to a piece of paper.  This piece of paper was a part of a puzzle I made which had a message.  I think they really loved that.  The message said that we were going to take a trip to a yogurt shop, which is a couple blocks from my doorstep.  I wanted them to play all the games I remember playing when I was a kid.  Some of the games we played were: pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, duck-duck-goose, and I had them race with lemons on a big spoon (and they could only keep running if the lemon was on the spoon.  This is a lot harder than it looks!).

They were only here for about two hours.  It was a lot of fun.  They're all good kids.  Watching them have fun reminded me of how much fun I had when I was little playing these types of games.  They all laughed a lot.  There is one girl who is very sweet, and she is just a little shy.  I cannot tell you how excited I was when I heard them all laughing, and there were a couple times when I could hear her laughter above everyone else.  

I remember being little, and seeing my mom watching me play something or opening presents on Christmas, and thinking, "She must be so bored!"  I remember her commenting how much she likes to watch us enjoy ourselves.  To be honest, I just couldn't believe it.  Now that I'm older, I know exactly what she's talking about.  There is something very special about doing fun things for children you love (even if they aren't your own), and watching them enjoy it.  

Happy Tuesday to you and yours...