Trying to be a good citizen

Every year for the past five or so to mark my birthday, I have tried to do some kind of charity work. Usually, it takes the form of a donation beyond the usual Salvation Army drop-off. For example, in the past, I have organized two major donation drives (by which I mean that I had dozens of participants): clothing for Suited for Change -- an organization which provides free professional clothes for welfare to work women -- and cell phones for The Wireless Foundation -- which through a program called "Call to Protect", fixes, erases and donates used cell phones to battered women so that they can call for help (911 is statutorily a free call on cell phones even if the phone is not on a paid wireless service; so long as the phone works, so will 911). I have also donated 10-15 inches of my hair (yes, hair) to Locks of Love, a non-profit which makes hairpieces out of real human hair for financially disadvantaged kids who suffer from long-term medical hair loss (cancer, alopecia areata, etc.)

I haven't done anything this year, and I'm thinking it's time for me to chop off my halfway-down-my-back and really-getting-long hair for my second donation to Locks of Love. It only took me 3 -1/2 years to grow it from short, short to long, long -- which isn't a tremendous amount of time to amass this mass of hair. Even if I donate the requisite ten inches, my hair will still be down to my shoulders. I've always taken my hair for granted, so rather than be vain about it, I think I'd like to let someone else feel pride in it. So, I think it's about time to do the donation again. I want to do it, and sentiment doesn't generally get in the way of these kinds of decisions for me. I just have to make sure I'm ready for the change... give it a few days to sink in.

It will be traumatic, but just think how much I'll save on shampoo and conditioner! And frankly, I had never felt as much pride in my hair before as when I saw it in the bag to mail off for the donation.