Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Doing the (Good) Deed

Well, the deed is done. 

My brave, beautiful little girl did an amazing and selfless thing on Saturday.  And I think she honestly understood and felt good about it.  I'd been talking to her about it for some time beforehand, letting her know that she was going to get her hair cut so she could send her hair to a little girl that didn't have any hair.

This is a child who had never, ever sat in a salon chair.

This is a child who had only ever had her hair cut once, 3 inches cut off by me, in the comfort of our own living room, several months ago.

So we honestly didn't know what to expect.

And she surprised the heck out of us.

After near-derailment by a screaming baby (seriously, the kid was way too young to be getting his hair cut in a salon - he was a baby for crying out loud!) and some quick-thinking by me to tell her the baby was crying because he was hungry, she accepted the explanation, climbed into the chair, made herself comfortable, and enjoyed watching the action from through the mirror.

Careful measurements were made, and we agreed on the amount to be cut.



(the baby and his family are in the background - he'd finally stopped screaming by this time...)



The only resistance came at the thought of having to put on the big black cape. 

(And Sammi is not holding a pack of Camel Lights in the photo below.


A few snips, and voila!


We held our breaths, waiting for her to close her mouth, loving this prolonged moment of...something

Would she cry?  Would she laugh?

Would she just sit there like that forever?

The moment dragged on...



...and she smiled.

And we sighed (loudly) with relief.

A little bit of water from a spray bottle, and a little trim...



And the result was stunning.

By the way, those bangs were not actually bangs.  Samantha has been twisting and twisting her hair lately, forceably ripping her hair clips out, breaking what was once as long as the rest.  They needed a little snip to clean up the resulting devastation. 



11 inches of beautiful hair, ready to be packed up and mailed out to Locks of Love, a very worthy charity that makes wigs for financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.  


The princess and the lollipop. 



Hey, even Rapunzel cut her hair at the end of the movie.  I guess this means I can still keep one of her nicknames. 

On Sunday night, late to bed after Easter dinner at my parents' lake house, I told Sammi that in lieu of a book before bed, I'd get in bed and tell her a story.  I told her the story of the beautiful Princess Samantha, sweet, kind, selfless, loved by all, who came across a little girl who was sad because she didn't have any hair but wanted to feel beautiful.  Princess Samantha realized that she had more than enough hair to go around, and cut off some of her locks to give to the little girl.  The little girl was so happy that she felt beautiful again, and thanked Princess Samantha for sharing.

Lying in the dark, Samantha's face barely visible by night-light, I saw her smile and close her eyes. 

"Thank you, Mommy.  Good story."

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

that was sooo sweet! Princess Samantha is awesome for sharing her beauty!

Jenn said...

I've been reading for awhile, but never commented. I adore Sammi, and can't put into words how awesome, sweet and perfect I think she is. Way to go, Sammi. You are a star!

D said...

A beautiful gesture from a beautiful girl! Good job Sammi!

JC said...

I loved this this!!! My favorite picture is the one of her looking in the mirror at her hair, lol...What an expression!!! And what a beautiful act of kindness...This was so wonderful :)

She’s Our Butterfly said...

What a wonderful thing that Sammi did!! She looks beautiful with her new haircut, and I absolutely love the picture where she is looking in the mirror at her hair....priceless!!

Anna said...

your posts are awesome Becca- you made us wait on this one...... wink. Princess Samantha is beautiful no matter how long her hair is- its whats on the inside that matters! She did a very brave and thoughtful thing.

tekeal said...

wow. inspirational, indeed. you all rock!

Lori said...

I love the story you told her =) So sweet!
And the great thing about hair...it grows back! =)

Monica Crumley said...

How wonderful and selfless! And she still has long hair... just not as long :-) She's beautiful. So glad it was a positive experience.

The Annessa Family said...

Only one new hair-do photo! I need more!!!

Brooke
www.MarvelousLoveBlog.com

Lisa said...

So beautiful! I love her new hair cut and am so proud of her for doing it. Its crazy her hair is still longer then Cate's and we've never had more than a half inch cut off! Good job mama - in one afternoon you managed to help someone who needed it and teach an invaluable lesson to Sammi.

Sally said...

Happy tears! Gorgeous girl, gorgeous story. Well done Mommy too :)

Rob Monroe said...

Completely awesome! Abby's is still too short to donate, but we're getting close. Love Sammi's new do, too!

Rochelle said...

In tears over this one. Way to go Sammi girl you are a beautiful and selfless princess. Some very lucky little girl is going to be blessed because of your gift!

Cindy said...

Oh my gosh, this brought me to tears!! Such a sweet story and such a beautiful princess!!

Unknown said...

oh my my!! so pretty...love the pix and I felt like we were there! Yeah for GReAT deeds! somebody is going to wear that hair proud! smiles

lovemy3 said...

How sweet! I'm so glad you got a smile afterwards :-) Two of my nieces did this also.

Unknown said...

Beautiful! I am so proud of her for beng so selfless! And what good parents to teach her to care for others at such a young age. :)

The Holt's said...

I love this and she is beautiful! I love her face when she sees her hair. I just had to pull in my co-worker to show her how cute she is.

April Vernon said...

Precious.

wendy said...

I'm in tears! What a beautiful story you told her! .What a wonderful little girl! I love the pictures! Wendy

Anonymous said...

I think I'm gonna cry on your good night story.

Extranjera said...

I was just going to ask about the camel lights. ;)

Charlotte's Mama said...

Sammi, your haircut and your heart are just gorgeous!

CJ said...

Her expression is priceless!! I wish you would get in front of the camera more! I see you in the reflection!!

Kelli said...

This post left me teary eyed! I loved reading and seeing the transformation! What a great "story"...you guys are amazing!! :) BIG smiles over here!

Leah Spring said...

They may not have been intended to be bangs, but they're bangs now. ;-) I think the hair cut was more traumatic for you than for her, since you've referenced it several times in subsequent posts. It's ok, I felt the same way when we cut Angela's hair for the first time at 5. That's when she stopped leaving "pretties" in her hair , instead ripping them out and breaking everything off. So frustrating.

Melissa said...

Love this! Even with that much cut off, her hair is still so long!