It was time for a haircut. Mom mentioned to Abby that in the past she had donated hair to Locks of Love and that the hair was used for children who needed wigs because being very sick had caused their own hair to fall out. We looked at the Locks of Love website together and Abby saw other girls her age that had donated hair and some of the recipients being so happy in the pictures after they had their wigs. The night before the haircut when she looked at the website, Abby said she would donate her hair. Mom made sure to tell her this had to be her choice because she could always do this later on if she was not ready to do it now.
The next morning (Nov. 29th) Abby had changed her mind, she wanted to keep her long hair. Mom was not too surprised, after all, Abby adored her long hair - she wanted to have hair like Rapunzel! And her hair was very pretty, if it was cut, even Mom would miss it!
After school on the way to get Abby's haircut, Abby made a surprise announcement that she had changed her mind and would donate her hair. When she was sitting in the chair, Mom even tried a little to talk Abby out of the decision, worried that Abby might regret it later and end up crying for days or weeks because she missed her lovely locks. But she had made up her mind, so off it went! That same day, Mom put an announcement and picture on her Facebook page about Abby's donation and read off each comment to Abby, which made Abby feel even better about her decision. Plus, all her friends and their mothers were very complimentary when they saw her with her new do.
12-12-12 rolls around. Abby has not missed her hair! At two o'clock in the afternoon the phone rang at home and it was the principal of Abby's school calling to say that she had a very pleasant conversation with Abby that morning and wanted permission to highlight Abby and her hair donation story on the school website because the school's word for December is "generosity." Of course, the principal got the green light for this, along with the pictures she requested, which she is also planning on sharing with the superintendent. She also is going to talk to the student body about generosity tomorrow and have Abby stand up there with her when she tells her story.
Does this sound like a proud parent writing this? Not at all! Abby learned that very special gifts do not need to cost a lot of money, but sometimes do require a level of sacrifice. The reward is the way the giver feels after giving such a wonderful gift. But we do have a very special, thoughtful little lady - now just one with shorter hair!
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