L is for Locks

On a much lighter note....

Every year, my kids' school does a Locks of Love event.  Last year, D2 got it into his head that he wanted to participate! 

At first, Dave was adamant that D2 get a haircut, so he got one.  It was still a bit long.  I talked to Dave and got him to see reason.  D2 was so dedicated to the idea!  (I think, in part, because it irritated Dave so.)  He put up with vaguely rude comments from Grandma...
Gma: T - your hair looks so nice!" 
D2: What about mine?
Gma: [shrugs]

He put up with waiters CONSTANTLY getting his gender wrong...
Waiter: And for the Senorita? 
Me: Senor. 
Waiter: Yes? 
Me: No.  Him [pointing to D2] - he's a Senor. 
Waiter: I'm sorry - Senor.

(T always helped with that - whenever anyone mistook D2 for a female, D2 would never say anything.  T would always politely and patiently correct the person's mistake: "He's a boy.")

He put up with the physical hassle of long hair.  He discovered the joys of conditioner and de-tangler spray.

After a year of growing, here's what he ended up with....

 

 

The day of the cutting, the whole school got to come out and see it.  My friend and neighbor, Holly came to check it out.  We were talking about D2 and a stranger next to us asked, "Is that your son?"  I said yes and she said, "He's the talk of the whole school!"  Apparently, he was the only boy out of the 26 people signed up for it!

 

The school didn't have any stylists on hand for this event.  The teachers put the hair in ponytails and the teachers did the cutting.

As you can see in this next pic, the left-side pony is different from the right-side pony.  This should go well...

D2 was in the first batch of volunteers.  He got a rousing cheer when they introduced him!  And then the cutting began....

 

The whole event was very sweet.  The kids that cut their hair were all walking around with little baggies full of their hair.  Quite a few of the girls got a bit teary-eyed about their short hair, but none of them seemed to really regret it. 

 

D2's hair wasn't actually long enough to donate for wig-making.  The way it works is that if it's 10" or longer, it's good for wig-making.  If it's not quite that long, the school gets money for the donated hair.  D2's was about an inch too short.  If Dave hadn't've made him cut it that first time, he would've had the 10". 

 

Shortly after the event, my BIL and his wife (Jerry and Jackie) went to a fundraiser for a kid they know that has cancer.  There were gift baskets for auction.  Jackie was determined to get (and did!) the movie basket.  Next time they saw MIL, they gave her the basket to give to the kids, and it included a pic of the kid with cancer.  He had a bald head, and D2 was convinced that this particular kid was the one who would get his hair!  Dave tried to explain that probably wasn't going to be the case, but I said, "Let him think it if he wants to.  What's it going to hurt?"  So we did.

 

Here's the aftershots...

 

Very 80's mod, right?

 

 

I clipper cut him to even it all out...

I asked him if he wanted to grow out his hair and do it again.  He said, "No way."  hah!  I asked T if he wanted to do it next year, and he declined, too.

It was a very sweet day.  All the girls that cut their hair were given a pretty, beaded bracelet.  They made a special boy bracelet just for D2!  It was a black cord with a silver-looking celtic bead.  Cool!

Miss brushing his long hair for him, Ruth!