Hairy Business

People are always obsessing over their hair; the colour, the cut, the style, the lack thereof. Hair is kind of a big deal. And my hair is no exception.  I have an over-abundance of hair, which has elicited comments from strangers and friends alike for as long as I can remember. I like my hair just fine. Of course, I lust after lots of other people's hair, imagining what it would be like to have straight hair. Or thinner hair. Or cooperative hair. Or bangs... I have always wondered what it would be like to have bangs.
My hair is basically a mass of auburn curls protruding from my head in various directions. Frizzier on humid days and a complete nightmare in tropical climates. It started out a definitive auburn, verging on red, but has tamed itself to a darker reddish/brown since the arrival of the minis. I hear that hormones are known to do these types of things. I keep it just past shoulder-length now, but there was a time when I had hair so short it basically formed a perfect sphere around my head. Kind of like a helmet. There was also a time when I had hair so long that it would accidentally get tucked into my pants if I wasn't careful.
I have had lots of hair adventures over the years.
My brother's preferred nickname for me for a very long time was "Fro". Aptly named, I was in no position to argue. Unfortunately, the name got out, and there are still people who to this day refer to me as "Fro" when I go back to my home-town for a visit. Smee, as I called him back then (and will continue to do so for the purpose of this blog and to protect his privacy), involved my hair in many of his daily operations and shenanigans. One of my brother's favourite tricks used to be the old "hide it in the fro" manoeuvre. He would take random objects and entwine them in my locks to the point that they were completely hidden. The fro also got blamed for things disappearing around the house. For example:
Original Mamashunga: "Have you guys seen the remote for the tv?"
Smee: "I think the fro ate it."
Original Mamashunga: "Come on now Smee. Where is it?"
Smee: (without missing a beat) "Did you check the fro?"
And so on.
To be fair, things did occasionally get stuck in my hair. One evening, my brother and I, along with some friends, were standing around on my front porch, chatting. It was June bug season and a few were flying around. Out of nowhere, one seemed to dive bomb right for me. I squealed in typical teenage girl fashion and swatted with my arms, but it had already flown off. Later that night, like hours later, I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom when all of a sudden - an enormous June bug comes flying out of my hair!! The theory is that the fro captured it in an attempt to make friends, but decided against it after discovering the inherent surliness of June bugs. At which point, it was released. Or maybe it just took that long for the thing to navigate itself back out of my hair. Either way, creepy, huh?
My abundance of hair made being a member of the swim team a wee bit tricky at times. I had a bit of a cone-head as my poor bathing cap struggled to confine the fro. I plowed through bathing caps like nobody's business. My coach even gave me an honorary award at the end of a season one year to recognize my hair/bathing cap relationship.
As an adult, the hair adventures have become less frequent. A part of me had hoped to pass on my unruly hair to my children. Another part of me wanted to spare them the torment. As it turns out, they were both spared. But I did feel a certain amount of glee when the nurse announced "He's a ginger!" When my son was born. His hair colour has since evolved to a more dirty blond hue.

Tootie has really cool hair. She has natural highlights that give her different colours depending on the light. Her hair is straight but holds a curl well. It is thin without being too thin. And she has bangs. The elusive bangs. Up until recently, her hair was quite long. She wanted it that way. I'm told that all the princesses have long hair. But she hated having it brushed, and she didn't really like having it tied back. Given her bouncy nature, that meant that she often had hair swirling around her face, in her mouth and poking her in the eyes. A few weeks back, she decided she wanted it cut. I postponed making the appointment in anticipation of her changing her mind. But she didn't, so I made the call. She now has the most adorable little bob, which suits her so completely.

Looking good Tootie!