Chop. chop.

So more than likely I will loose my hair. Like highly likely. Scariest thing about the whole cancer thing right. I mean I've been able to skirt around not looking like a cancer girl. But now here you go. Slap the label on me. Oh well. Its just hair. From the moment I knew I had to do chemo, I knew I wanted to donate it. They tell me I won't loose it until 2-3 weeks after first cycle...so like second cycle. So I could wait and just shave it all when it starts coming out, but I wouldn't know how fast it would come out or what. I was going to do it like the day of chemo or the day after, but my hair stylist didn't have any openings until the Friday before. (It was Christmas the next week after all, so you can only imagine they were super busy). And I really wanted my girl to do it. What up, Crystal at Honeycomb?! She's the bomb. All week, my poor mom was saying how I should wait until after my cousin's wedding, you know for photos and stuff. My response, if he got married in May as originally planned, I would be bald with a wig. I like these odds better. Plus it was like a fun unveiling at the wedding! 

The week I was doing this, a girlfriend visited Alternative Hair Solutions. It is a wig shop in town, she talked to the owner and stylist about me and wigs and donating hair. I love that my friend said "She may not even get a wig and rock the bald." They mentioned they donate to Wigs for Kids (rather than the other organizations). And that they work with Wigs for Kids to get wigs directly to kids in Charlottesville and that they have a child on a waiting list for one right now. I loved this full circle community approach and that my hair would go to an organization that is directly affecting children in Charlottesville. Obviously this child would not have my hair as a wig, but the full circle of it, really was huge to me. So I went and visited them, tried on lots of wigs and chatted with them. Trying on wigs was fun! Still hadn't freaked me out yet. I have a few I'm deciding on and going back to them soon to decide on style and colors...and don't worry - I'm totally having fun with them! I'm going to love walking down the downtown mall and be in incognito...it may be my electric blue wig day or my chestnut bob day or a big afro day....I mean when else can I have an excuse to have fun with wigs. 

Back to my haircut. So right after I get shot up and go into medical menopause, I run over to Crystal for the cut! Heather (my business partner and bff) and Kelly (bff) meet me there with champagne. (May not be what the doctor ordered right after my shot - but totally worth it!). I showed Crystal the photo I was wanting. I had been researching for awhile. She looked at for like 2 seconds and was like great! Didn't even look at the rest of the time. And started her process. Taking small ponytails, measuring perfectly to make sure there was enough (restrictions for donating hair - not colored, at least 10-13" long). As she starts cutting off more of it, I can see Heather and Kelly's reactions, which are pretty great. They seem like in shock how good it looks (or at least they are just really good poker faces). 

I wasn't even nervous. Which was weird, my hair has never been shorter than above my shoulders...ever. But I wasn't worried, I kind of knew it was going to be fun and look good. And what damage could I do to hair that I'm just about to loose in a few weeks anyways. 

And BAM. She did it. It was perfect. I'm in love with it and I think I'm going to be more sad when this hair falls out and I shave this do, because I won't have more time with it. 

My hairstylist said, "Well, if you get anything from all this cancer, you now know what haircut you were born to have."

As I was walking back to the shop, Lee (a talented jewelry designer and owner of amazing jewelry shop Angelo with his adorable wife Pam on the Downtown Mall) saw me and ran across the street. He said "1. where is your red lipstick and 2. are you going to be at RPS in the next few minutes?" In the next 20 minutes he came back in the store and gave me a present. Porcupine Quill Earrings - as seen in the last lower right square. Ummmmm, I'm obsessed with them. I've barely taken them off since I've gotten them. They are so light and so perfectly my style. 

Once again, I freaking love this community and everyone around me during this whole process. 

xoxo
Dani and the girls rockin a fresh pixie