snip snip, for a good cause

Almost on a daily basis, I find myself bugging my girls to get their hair cut.  And every time I mention it, they grumble and refuse.

Well, I invoked my parental authority and forced them to get it chopped.  And since their hair was SO very long, I thought it a good idea to donate it for a good cause.

After researching the net for a good and worthy organization, I decided on Children with Hair Loss.  This company provides FREE wigs to ONLY children who suffer from diseases and illnesses that result in hair loss.  Plus, they allowed for shorter hair lengths (10 inches, I believe) while most other organizations wanted a minimum of 12 inches.  

Anyway, the girls were not very happy with my forcing them to get their hair chopped...but I insisted and so, off we went.

I made several mistakes this day. 

The first was to force them to do something they didn't want to do.  In retrospect, I should have allowed them to make this decision.  They needed a trim for sure, but the amount I had cut was pretty excessive.  

And the second was the location of their haircut.  This place sucked.  I should have gone to a more reputable salon with more skilled stylists.  My mistake.  And never again.

Anyway, despite all of that, their cuts weren't terrible, and Kela wasn't overly upset....she didn't like the cut but managed to remain positive about it.  And she realized the sacrifice she was doing was for a worthy cause.  She knew that her hair would help other kids with feeling better and I was proud of her for that.

Anna, however, was far less accepting of her fate.

Once she saw how much the stylist cut off...she got madder, and madder.  To the point that she refused to look up at the end.  She cried and vocalized how much she hated the cut.  Honestly, the stylist didn't do a very good job at blending her cut.  She cut off way more than necessary after the braids were cut and I think that is what upset her the most.  

I thought it looked cute, but she was not happy at all. She continued to mope and complain as we were leaving, and I nearly lost my head for a few short minutes-scolding your child in the middle of the mall isn't something I have had to do often, but boy did I do it today!

Needless to say, it's just hair.  And it will grow back.

But for the time being, I have 2 less than happy girls with short hair to contend with for the next several months.  Doest this mean that I'm a mean mommy?  Maybe.  However, I've learned my lesson.  The next time my girls donate hair, it will be because THEY want to do it.  Which will probably be never again, but I am still proud of what they did and want to believe that deep down, they know they did the right thing to donate their precious hair to other kids who are less fortunate.