PunditGirl hasn’t had a real haircut since she was in first grade.  Yes, we’ve forced her to get it trimmed, so it would “grow” — .  But she has been adamant since she was old enough to wash and brush her hair herself that she wanted it long.

REALLY long!

Not quite long enough to sit on it, but close!

Ever since it was clear that “the hair” was going to be a real project, we’ve talked with PunditGirl about Locks of Love and that we hoped she would consider, when she was ready for a short do, that she’d think about cutting enough to make a gift to Locks of Love. It’s hard to explain to a kid who doesn’t know any other children who are sick with cancer and have no hair that such a thing is possible.  I know she heard our words, but wasn’t sure how much really sunk in.

But this week, PunditGirl decided it was time!  So, we marched ourselves down to the local barber shop where a long, luxurious ponytail was cut — we’re talking 12 inches!

I just did what?

It’s a new chic, shoulder-length do!

After the exciting, yet slightly, traumatic event, we headed out for some errands and to catch the afternoon show of The Princess and the Frog (which I really liked, notwithstanding my concerns about what it was going to be when Disney started touting it over the summer).  During the previews, the theater showed a trailer for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, featuring many children who were bald as a result of their diseases and treatments.  I leaned over and whispered to PunditGirl, “One of those children might be getting your hair.  These are the kinds of children we’ve been talking about, who get sick and lose all of their hair.”

She studied their faces and turned to me, quite solemnly, and just shook her head quietly.  I could see in her face that this was the moment she truly got it.  She grasped the idea that she was really, really helping and doing something that someone else needed.

It was a particularly gratifying parenting moment!

Although she looks SO much more grown up with the shorter hair, and I’m SO not ready for that! 

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