Letter to a little girl who gave a big gift

Dear Annemarie Rose -

Today I saw a picture of you with your new short hair. You were full of joy and generosity. You gave freely and with self-confidence. You are only four years old. I know you realize that you are helping others, but perhaps you have not seen the receiving side as I have to know just how precious your gift is. You see, I worked for a year as a cancer nurse. All my patients lost their hair. Every single one. They lost long luscious locks, curls, bangs, and bobs. They lost eyebrows and the lashes that brushed their soft cheeks. Some shaved their heads before the hair started to fall out, to protect themselves from the pain of watching it go slowly – the clumps in the shower or on the pillow in the morning. Others held on to every last strand, combing and primping as their floor became littered with what used to be their glory. Hair is more than just hair. It is beauty, identity, humanity.

I watched women who had been the prom queens, the country club wives, grapple with what felt like the loss of the perfection they always prided themselves in. It happened more than once that a capped, scarved, or openly hairless woman shuffled around her bag to pull out an old photo of herself to show me as if to say, “See, this is what I once was. You don’t know all of me till you know about my hair.”

Annemarie Rose, today you gave a gift to someone. Today you let them look in the mirror and feel a little closer to the normalcy that they sometimes feel is slipping away. You gave them a chance to run their fingers through a mane of beautiful locks and toss blonde waves over their shoulder. Somewhere someone is pleased to find hair that looks just close enough to theirs that they feel themselves again. Or perhaps it is helping them embrace a new them – one that may have been tried and torn – but remains courageous, strong, beautiful, and proud.

Keep giving freely Annemarie, because as you give all things with a gentle and light-hearted love you may never how deeply your gift reaches into the life of another to make them whole.

I love you,

Your proud Godmother, Michelle