I take my children for granted. It's not something I'm proud of. But, I do. I take for granted that they're smart, happy, helpful, beautiful, healthy (for the most part), and bring me so much joy. I assume that they will do the right thing and they don't usually disappoint me. I am a very, very lucky momma. Of that, I have no doubt. But, still, I know that I take their good behavior for granted and don't always compliment them as much as I should or congratulate them on their successes or even let them know that I'm so proud of them when they do the right thing.
But, not today. Today, Emily did the right thing. A wonderful thing, a beautiful thing and a brave thing. And it may seem trivial in the scheme of things, but for a nine-year-old girl, it was huge. She had heard about an organization called Locks for Love when she was eight. And thought it was cool that people would donate their hair to help other people who didn't have any. But, she wasn't really interested in doing it herself. Cool for other people, but not for her. And then Stef was diagnosed with breast cancer last October. And we had just spent the last weekend before her diagnosis visiting with her and her kids in Nebraska. And Emily couldn't fathom that Zachie's and Bails' mom was going to have to go through chemo and lose her hair. So, right then and there, she declared that she was going to grow out her hair and donate it.
And she really did it. She hated having long hair for the growing out process and she was scared of having really short hair at the very end of the process, but she stuck with it for almost an entire year. And today, she donated her hair. Like I said, it may seem trivial to some, but to her and to me and to her Daddy, it was huge. And, believe me, we have let her know how very proud we are of her!
She chose to donate her hair not to Locks for Love, but in honor of "Miss Stef" (as Em calls her), she chose an organization that collects hair specifically for women who are going through cancer treatments (Locks for Love does not) - Pantene's Beautiful Lengths Program - it is a wonderful organization and has helped many, many women who have been affected by cancer.
And, truly, I don't think Emily has ever been more beautiful - on the inside, as well as the outside. I'm going to bed a very proud momma tonight!
