Thursday, June 17, 2010

23 Inches

Well hello blogettes! I thought I'd pop in for a few minutes. Part of the reason I haven't been blogging for the last several days is poor mental attitude. In other words, I've had a bad case of pre-surgery anxiety for the last week or two and you really wouldn't have wanted to hear from me because I've had little of interest to talk about. Now, though, I've successfully jumped two of the three surgery hurdles--the only one left is the surgery itself--and I'm feeling some relief at having gotten this far. Surgery should be a piece of cake, eh? Well, maybe not. But let me tell you about the first hurdle.

So the title of this post: 23 inches. Do you know how long 23 inches is? Here's a visual that might help.


My very long 6" x 24" Omnigrid ruler is one inch longer than 23 inches. My 18" x 24" cutting mat--which extends almost the entire width of my sewing table--is one inch longer than 23 inches. I know 23 inches doesn't really SOUND as long as it LOOKS, so I wanted to give you a visual idea of what I'm talking about.

Okay, so the first surgical hurdle I've now jumped? Getting 23 inches cut off my hair.

Big hurdle, huh? Well, it was for me, anyway. My hair has been growing forever with not much cutting aside from occasional trims. See the nude self portrait of me in my profile in the side bar? I don't look the same anymore; I need to have another photo shoot soon. Seriously? I think getting my hair cut was nearly as traumatic as the surgery will be.

I've been thinking for the past couple of years that I SHOULD cut my hair, but thinking and doing are two different things. Really, having it that long was just silly since it wasn't practical to wear it down, and putting it up and hiding it away every day? Well why have it? So when I knew I'd need to be able to take care of my hair with one hand, I was finally pushed into taking the step between thinking and doing. I bit the bullet and made an appointment with a hair salon. REALLY a good experience, overall, and those 23 inches that were cut off will go to Locks of Love.

In its natural state, my hair is absolutely stick straight and very fine. It tangles horribly. Within about an hour of styling, it gets limp and stringy. So after some thought, I decided I'd also need some kind of perm for body. And you know what? My hair now looks a lot like it did in the 80s. Remember when EVERYONE had a perm? Yeah, that look. A little bit below my shoulders, a bit layered, and kinky curly. I'll be able to experiment with some styling by Sunday and I'm told the curl will loosen up quite a bit in about a week, so that's all good. And really? With one hand, I think I'll still be able to wash it, stick some gel in it, scrunch it up, and go. Simple.

I was a little bit teary-eyed when I first arrived at the salon, but by the time I left, I was pretty pleased with the outcome. So pleased, in fact, I nearly sat down and wrote this post then and there. But the second hurdle still loomed--the pre-op testing which I had planned for today. And when I sat down at the computer last night to write this post, I thought I'd first take a minute to review the pre-op instructions. It was then that I realized I'd already screwed up the second hurdle, and my enthusiasm for my haircut was quickly replaced by panic. I'll tell you about that in the next post.

18 comments:

Carol said...

Did you mess up the second hurdle by getting a perm? That's a lot of hair you cut off, I'll bet it feels much better.

Anonymous said...

Kim, Congrats! Some lucky little girl will thank you so much for your hair and sooo long. Good luck on your surgery. I'm sure it will go well and you will feel so much better. Miss your daily blogging but we understand. Janet

kimland said...

WOW... That's huge!!! Very brave of you to part with your hair and yet so generous. I know you've had some anxiety over surgery and wish you well. I look forward to the day you can "look back" and laugh, or is that make us laugh with you when your able to come back to blogging fulltime again! I have no room to talk I have been on hiatis from my blog with no advance warning, but I still read and look forward to reading about the adventures of others. Best of Luck!!!

Kelly Ann said...

jump on the scale....I bet you lost two or three pounds...now that's a positive...

Anonymous said...

The first thing I thought of when you said that you messed up the pre-op was getting a perm. And then I see that Carol had the same thought. Can't wait until we hear if we were right or not. Hope all goes well.

Unknown said...

Honestly the surgery would be easier then the hair. I've done it three times where I've had looong hair and cut it short, and only one of those times did I really want to, other more practical then anything. It's hard but now I do love the shoulder length hair most of the time

Jocey said...

I am thinking the perm has you worried. Anaesthetic usually does not allow a perm to "take" so maybe you are worried you will lose your new found curls? Really you are going to be on here blogging in no time and wondering why you were so worried about it all.

Jocelyn said...

So glad you were able to get a good haircut and perm. What a relief to have a wash and go haircut. We are all waiting for a picture ;-)

AnnieO said...

23 inches is a lot! I once went from waist length hair to chin length hair but at that time there was nothing called Locks of Love or I would have donated it. My hair length has gone up and down a lot since that time 25 years ago. One handed hairstyling is not easy so I think you made a good decision. Hope the perm thing works out for you.

Greenmare said...

good job you!!! you are in excellent company with the LOL, in my family I've donated, 3 of my daughters have donated and 2 of my nieces have donated! isn't that a great feeling?

Brandie said...

Wow! 23 inches is more than most people's entire hair length. Does your head feel lighter? Locks of Love will be thrilled! Good luck, we're all here when you need us.

Mary said...

Hang in there! When I have something scary or yukky I have to go through, I always think of all the people who have gone through the same thing, and by golly, if they can do it, so can I. Best of luck - I'm sure it won't be as bad as you're imagining.

sunny said...

I agree that surgery would probably be easier than cutting off 23 inches of hair! It will be a breeze, and you'll feel so much better when it's over. Well, maybe not right away, but soon!

Rhonda said...

Oh Kim, bless your heart. My prayers are always with you.
I know your hair looks great and things will go your way!

Nancy said...

good for you...get all the anxiety out at the same time then it will be smooth sailing from then on...lol

I am thinking you can get a perm before surgery, so maybe you are on aspirin therapy? or some other meds that you were supposed to stop?

I can't wait to see a hair pic..

Robin said...

Oh wow, how EXCITING about your hair!! I'm sure it was acary as heck, but you were brave and did't run screaming out of the salon before the scissors even touched your hair! I bet it looks really cute!!!!

A cliffhanger!!!!! Hmmm...I'll bet your second-hurdle-screwup was that you ate or drank something when you were supposed to be fasting after midnight...am I right??

strawberrycream39 said...

I'm thinking the same as Robin...did you eat when you were supposed to be fasting? Congrats on the big haircut...I bet it looks so healthy and bouncy! And think of all the money you'll save in shampoo! :-)

quiltmom anna said...

KIm,
Change comes in many forms and sure can be challenging-I am sure your hair looks beautiful - the person from Locks of Love will be very fortunate to receive your gift of hair.
I hope that all goes well with your surgery. We'll all be here rooting you on as you recover from the surgery.

Warmest regards,
Anna