I like myself and I miss my curls

September 1, 2012

For several years now I've kept my hair short, very short. Damien cuts it with his clippers, just like going to the barber. I love the simplicity of short hair. I love not "doing" my hair. I am a low maintenance woman and short hair fits well with this. 

I love feeling comfortable enough in my own skin to have short hair. I don't pay much attention to my looks. How I look just doesn't matter much to me, as long as I'm clean and my clothes aren't too dirty or scruffy. How I feel physically, spiritually, emotionally - matters much more to me than appearance. And this is how I feel. I feel strong and healthy. I feel young and vibrant. I feel loving and loved.

I feel beautiful. So growing my hair has nothing to do with wanting to be more beautiful.

I miss my curls. Plain and simple. I have gorgeous curly hair. And no grey, yet. Which is a good thing since once I start to go grey, there's no going back. I won't be dying my hair.

I miss having hair long enough for the kids to play with. When the kids were little, and my hair was longer, we'd sit on the couch and they would "do" my hair. For me, it was pure bliss. Like my paternal grandmother and father, I love having people play with my hair.

The kids would comb my hair. Put clips and pony tails in. It looked hilarious. And it felt so good. (I just spent 20 minutes trying to find a photo in our old files to share with you but I couldn't find one.) I was never daring enough to leave the house when they did my hair this way. I'm gutsy, but not that gutsy.

I loved that time with my kids. It was like a spa treatment for me. I figure I only have a couple years left of that kind of love and attention from my kids. I want to grow my hair a bit to take advantage of that before it's too late. Brienne especially loves to style my hair and I love her doting attention.

Missing my curls and my children's attention to my hair, I've decided to grow my hair again. You'll notice my husband has little to do with this decision. Damien loves my hair short, real short. Which is part of the reason I've kept it short for these past years. But he also likes my curls, at least I think so. He fell in love with me when I was young and had long curly hair (and big glasses).


Young Love, circa 1995

Growing out my hair is full of awkwardness. Like when I forget to comb my hair before leaving the house and get to town looking "pouffier" than I like. A slick coif has never been my gig, but 70's white girl afro is not the look I'm going for either.

Thank goodness I don't have to be in public much these days. And when I do, I often resort to a headband to look presentable without a lot of effort.


late summer mornings are cool in the mountains, hence the down vest and scarf

I guess you could say that's my style - presentable without a lot of effort.

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  • Amber

    Amber on Sept. 1, 2012, 5:06 p.m.

    I am SO looking forward to this same thing. I try and try to get my three year old and 1 1/2 year old to spend time with my hair (or rubbing my back). But they just don't have the attention span. I get a good 2 minutes out of them at this point. Since I am SO pregnant right now, and will take any kind of pampering, I have resorted to having them drive cars on my back and arms and legs. :) But, seriously, what a great reason to grow out your hair! I can't wait until Autumn (and maybe Axel) gets old enough to want to really brush and style my hair. I have always loved for it to be brushed and have looked forward to those special times with my own kids for a long time.

    I look forward to watching your transformation. I love the old pics ;)

    reply
  • Leanne

    Leanne on Sept. 1, 2012, 7:39 p.m.

    Growing up in the 80's...I paid to have those curls that you naturally have!!! Now it's just striaght and plain :) I do not care to do anything fancy or time consuming with my hair either. You have beautiful hair :)

    reply
  • Carol in NM

    Carol in NM on Sept. 2, 2012, 1:44 a.m.

    I love your hair in all its stages and lengths! Gorgeous! Like you, I also have very short hair (about 1" on top, and spiked) and I've had my hair short for 21 years now. I've tried growing it out several times and gave up. I started going gray in my late 20's and am too vain not to color it. (It's not a pretty gray, it's mousy and awful.)
    But like you, I miss long hair. Mine was to the middle of my back when I cut it off 21 years ago. This is the only way my husband and my son have ever seen me, except in old photos.
    I think it takes a certain amount of moxy and confidence to wear super short hair. And the low/no maintenance factor is a real bonus! Good luck with growing out your curls! I look forward to the transition photos.

    reply
  • Hullabaloo Homestead

    Hullabaloo Homestead on Sept. 2, 2012, 1:45 a.m.

    Wow Renee you look so different with that lovely flowing hair. I cut my hair super short for awile in my twenties and totally know about that curly awkward stage. Im sure you will get creative with it though!

    :)Lisa

    reply
  • Rachael

    Rachael on Sept. 2, 2012, 2:30 a.m.

    Oh, enjoy your curls!

    I recently had my hair cut short, myself, and I'm really liking it. My nearly 4-yo says he liked it better long, though. Alas. I'm keeping it short. For now.

    reply
  • Karrie

    Karrie on Sept. 2, 2012, 4:38 a.m.

    I have glasses just like that from 1995 too! My kids get a kick out my pictures with my big glasses and my hair with bangs. You have beautiful curls! Enjoy!

    reply
  • Lori C.

    Lori C. on Sept. 2, 2012, 3:08 p.m.

    Isn't hair a funny thing? When I was a girl, I always had long hair, (except for a disastrous haircut when I was 11) & I always thought it was such a pain...I had a very tender head & hated to have it washed or brushed. I grew to dislike having anyone touch my hair or head...

    Now that I'm an adult, I much prefer the way it feels when it is short, but it grows very fast (& I am cheap...+remember I don't like having others touch my hair or head...I know, weird...)So my solution has been to get it cut really short & then let it grow until it is long enough to donate to a charity, then get it cut short, repeat...

    I should say, that I actually prefer the way my hair looks when it is long. I have auburn hair (very little grey, as of yet...) with loose ringlet-type curls. The hair itself is baby-fine, but is extremely densly packed, giving the impression that it is very thick. (I'm told it is very nice for use as highlights in darker wigs...?)

    The latest step in the development of this process, is that I recently handed my daughter a pair of scissors & asked her to help me. This took a huge amount of trust on my part, but she is a very mature 15 year old & she really wanted to cut my hair... & I love her. I think I look awesome, she got a big confidence boost, & when I tell people that she cut my hair (she beams &) they always tell me that I look beautiful.

    reply
  • Nicki

    Nicki on Sept. 2, 2012, 8:05 p.m.

    I always find it funny when people say they love their low-maintenance short hair. For a very short period in my life I had short hair and never have I spent more time "doing" my hair before or since! I guess I was just never meant to have short hair. I like yours short, but wow I LOVE those curls too!

    reply
  • Francesca

    Francesca on Sept. 2, 2012, 8:31 p.m.

    I grew my hair out so I could wear it in a bun, and forget about it; it worked for me, longer hair is totally low maintenance for my kind of hair, which is dead straight. I've always wanted curly hair - so I married a man with curly hair, but, my spaghetti-like hair prevailed, and none of our kids has so much as a hint of curl!

    reply
  • Heather

    Heather on Sept. 3, 2012, 12:57 a.m.

    I think it looks super either way, and I love what you've recognized what longer hair brought into your life. It's not about vanity or trying to re-capture another (younger) time in your life. It's about recognizing and celebrating something that brought you joy. How great is that?!
    My oldest is 11 and I get so few cuddly opportunities anymore that I soak them up when they come my way.

    Enjoy!

    reply
  • Brooke

    Brooke on Sept. 3, 2012, 1:29 p.m.

    I have curly hair too, but it doesn't turn into ringlets until it gets really long because I have big curls, so in the growing out stage I look like i have an 80s perm...I'm letting mine grow too, mostly because a shorter cut is more maintenance, and my husband altho he won't out right admit it, likes my hair longer. I like that if I'm having a bad hair day I can throw it up in a bun and it looks neat and polished. I think your hair is beautiful in every above photo.

    reply
  • Ashley

    Ashley on Sept. 4, 2012, 9:42 p.m.

    I always wanted curly hair, but my hair is straight as a board! I love short hair and have worn my hair in a pixie cut on and off since I was in college. I recently decided it was time for a little change and am beginning to grow it out again. I never get very far in this pursuit, because the minute my hair fits into a pony-tail, up it goes...which seems to defeat the purpose of having grown my hair out! And it's so thick it takes forever to dry...so back I go with super short hair. Plus, my husband, Kyle, loves my hair short. But every now and then, it's fun to change things up! And that's where I am now!

    Also, I just realized we're very close in age, Renee! I wrongly assumed that because your kids were older than mine, that you were too! But you just got started having babies earlier than me! I love it! Makes me even more thrilled to have found you, my friend!

    reply
  • Nicky Rothmann

    Nicky Rothmann on Sept. 5, 2012, 5:03 a.m.

    Hello! Your hair is BEAUTIFUL, I'm sure you got that now from all your followers. (Coincidentally, I found your blog looking for a natural conditioner a few months back!)

    I too have curly hair, and had short hair for a long period in my life. Being born with curly hair in an Indian family is like surprise surprise! Nobody had any idea what to do it with, so it always got brushed out... I always ended up with BIG hair! Clippers seemed like the best invention ever at the time,instead of painful brushing!

    Ten years ago, my husband, then my fiancé, asked me to grow it for our wedding. And I loved it! Only in my 20's did I realise I had curls that everybody loved!

    Also I always found it difficult to find a product that I could use for my hair. Apple Cider Vinegar (thanks to your Blog) and coconut oil, adds a beautiful bounce and calms the frizz that I have.

    So thanks so much for sharing. MUCH appreciated! Love and Light

    i<.

    reply

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