wanna play catch (up)?

Between being sick (can I say "sick" if its a pain thing, as opposed to a volatile illness thing? who cares. I'm gonna.) and having eighteen shades of camera woes these past few weeks, I've been mighty crappy about posting. How could my life get in the way of me documenting... my life?

Anyway, I digress. Also, I blame any incoherence on the fact that I'm still under medication and whatnot... and will be for the forseeable future.

A couple of weeks ago, my Sprout, embarked on an overnight camping trip for school. The students went out to a 4-H camp to experience ecology in action. It was rainy, but there were s'mores and campfires. It all came out in the wash.

Sprout and Bosley the wee pup, getting ready to leave for the camping trip.

Please note in the above image, both Sprout and Pup were in need of a trim. About a week ago, Bosley went in for baby's first hair cut. We went from super scruffy, to super sleek.

However, the wee pup is not the only one who got a trim, Sprout's bangs were out of control and she was long overdue for a trim. We had an appointment set for Friday afternoon. Thursday night there was a bit on the news regarding a local 7yr old girl who is battling her 3rd bout with cancer. Sprout had asked me a few questions about why the little girl was bald, the scars on her head, and why her mommy was crying. Being as graceful as possible, yet not sugar coating it, I gave the kid an overview.

Sprout has had two major haircuts in her life. When she started kindergarten we took her mid-back hair and cut it into a chin length bob. Her hair grew back and in the third grade, we cut her waist-length hair to about her shoulder blades. On both occasions we donated her hair to Locks of Love. I reminded her of this while discussing the bald headed girl on tv.

One of her day camp teachers has spent the last few years battling cancer. Her hair is growing back now, and she's cancer-free. Mary is a survivor. I know that right now, there is a lot of Breast Cancer awareness in the media. A couple of years ago, I helped one of my best friends, as best I could, as she cared for her father when he was diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer in April and dead by August. This past year, a dear friend's husband battled a brain tumor, he is winning. Last week, the same friend's aunt died from one. Words like "cancer" and "tumor" are ones the Sprout has heard a lot. Its a tough world and she knows it. Her problems aren't fatal, but she isn't new to hospitals or medically fragile kiddos.

Over the summer we'd been kicking around the idea of cutting her hair back again. Did I mention we have unnaturally thick hair? It has grown back with a vengeance, and she could sit on it when it was unfurled. Braided up, it was still ridiculously long.

The 'before' shot

She kept backing down at the last minute, saying she wasn't ready. Friday morning her mind had changed. No longer was she going in for a bang trimming. She decided to lop it off. Eighteen inches later, with her hair en route to the folks at Locks of Love, she's still adorable, and loves saying "watch me!" as she shakes her hair like she's in a Breck commercial.

The "after"