Retightening: From Spaghetti to Worms

Jen got a picture or two of my hair at almost 54 months (4 1/2 yrs) yesterday after we took Mom out to Cheddar's for Mother's Day dinner. Jen kept saying, "girl your hair is long!!!!" The second picture was really telling when compared to the back view of my hair on day one.

Now I'm half way finished retightening my hair and need to be finishing up the top right now, but I had to blog about one of my student's comments about my hair this morning. I'd spent dang near all day on Friday with this girl along with about 9 others at Six Flags, and I spend approximately 135 minutes a day with her (675 minutes a week with her as well) because she's in my advisory and double booked class. She's Hispanic and has been quite fascinated with my hair; she's touched it, played in it, read the SL Journals, and the whole nine yards.

Well this morning, she comes behind me during our transition period and starts touching my hair. I say nothing of it cause I don't trip. She then proceeds to say, "Miss E's hair looks like spaghetti." I kinda ignore her cause it wasn't necessary to correct her, IMO. A few kids make some nervous snickers, thinking the comment would make me mad. She comes from around me and sits right in front of me and then says, "Miss E's hair looks like worms." Now, not only does she have my attention, but the attention of the whole class. I just stop and look at her. The kids are cutting their eyes between me and the student wondering what I was gonna say. The stare lasted longer than she could manage and then she tucked her head and said, "I'm sorry Miss E."

With the exception of a few "mixed" kids and the Hispanic girls, my hair is probably the longest at my school. We have lots of braids, lace-fronts, weaves, "twig tails", extensions and the like, but my kids and most adults know my hair is real. The other kids looked a little offended cause what she said was uncalled for. I'm sure my hair has gotten called worse things behind closed doors.

But it does lend for some sort of truth. If your locks start to mature, they will begin to look tubular and round, like say spaghetti or indeed worms. So, I guess in the eyes and opinions of locked folks, I imagine you could say she gave me a compliment. Whatever the case, I guess I'm glad she had the comfortableness or blind ignorance to say it to my face. Had she said it elsewhere, she may not have been gently rebuked. Oh well. Here's how my hair was today. I've worn it like this many times before because it's easy to put up and hair is not in my face.