Growing Hair

Let it fly in the breeze
And get caught in the trees
Give a home to the fleas in my hair
A home for fleas
A hive for bees
A nest for birds
There ain’t no words
For the beauty, the splendor, the wonder
Of my…

Hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair, hair
Flow it, show it
Long as God can grow it
My hair

[from the musical Hair]

When I was in my early 20s – I let my hair grow and grow and grow.

My mother used to tell me “grown-ups don’t have long hair.”  

She also used to tell me I looked like an Indian – which was funny because she’s the one who told me that a secret of my father’s side of the family was that we have American Indian heritage.

Ah – memories. That hair growth was when I was in graduate school, it was the 60s and everyone had long hair – down to their backside, waist or wherever it wound up hanging down to.

So there I was, a grown up [of sorts] with long hair – and I let it stay long well into the 70s because I like my hair… and I had lots of earrings that I liked with long hair.

But – long hair can be a hassle. It gets in your face, nose, food, and eyes…. so one very hot summer day when my scalp felt itchy, I went and got it all cut off…..

And shortish it stayed until I was in law school…

But then I cut it off again…and kept it medium length or very short. For years.

Until I decided I wanted to let it grow.

No real reason except that those earrings I like with long hair kept looking at me – and I had kept them.

Alas – I’d forgotten what growing your hair out looks like….it goes through many ugly stages…so at first I kept trimming it to keep it out of my face and eyes…but then, of course, it grew back into my face and eyes..

Finally I bit the proverbial bullet and decided ugly, straggly or whatever – I was going to let it grow until it was long – and then decide what to do

It’s now long, it’s straggly, and it’s still growing……

How have you decided about your hair?

Can grown-ups really have long hair?

Is there any particular thing in your life that has led to long or short hair?

Thanks for the comments.