Tomorrow Afternoon at 3:30

Tomorrow afternoon at 3:30, I'll be doing one of the following:

A) Going to see the Dark Knight
B) Flopping around on a "Slip and Slide".
C) Cutting my hair off
D) Going home to Los Angeles

Which one do you think I'm doing?

As much as I'd like to do all four of those things tomorrow afternoon, and buy a winning lottery ticket on top of it all, alas, only ONE of those fabulous choices will actually be going down.

If you guessed "D" -- One more week, folks. One more week and I'll be back in my beloved El-Ay.

If you guessed "A" -- Nope, because I haven't stooped to going by myself yet. I'm waiting for my sister to stop saying, "It looks too "dark" and scary." Um, yeah, because it's called the "Dark Knight", m'dear.

If you guessed "B" -- Nope, that was yesterday. Or rather, I was trying to flop onto the Slip and Slide, but I found I just could not throw my body to the ground like you're supposed to. I'm sorry, but a bit of plastic with some water running on it doesn't scream to me, "Flop onto me, please!"

So that leaves, cough, option "C" on the table.

I still can't believe it myself, but I do indeed have an appointment to get my hair cut off tomorrow. Courage is needed because as I type, I'm sort of I'm in the midst of a freak out over it. I need to relax and try to convince myself that it's just hair. It'll grow back.

How much hair am I getting cut off?

I'm not really sure. But after a year of growing out my relaxed-to-within-an-inch-of-it's-life hair, all the scraggly, bone-straight ends have got to go. My natural hair is like four times thicker and healthier. I also keep getting these really bad tangles where my kinky/curly natural hair meets the straight hair, and I can't stand it anymore.

My hair when it's not curly comes halfway down my back. But my natural hair is maybe only six inches long. Maybe longer. I'm not sure. But who knows what I'll be left with at 4:30 tomorrow.

Wow, this time tomorrow night, for the first time in my entire adult life, I'm going to have short hair.

Short
NAPPY
hair.

Short + Nappy.
Nappy + Short.

It's a combo that our culture teaches black women to hate and despise from the time that we're small. We're taught to run from Short + Nappy, not towards it. What I'm undertaking tomorrow is the beauty equivalent of me trying to throw my body onto a Slip and Slide.

I have no idea what I'm going to look like when I come out of the salon. EEK!

Wondering what brought this decision on?. Well, I've been thinking about cutting the relaxed ends for several months now, and I never summoned up the courage. Plus there is always someone there to say, "Don't cut your hair. You won't look good with short hair." Or folks wanna know what I'm going to do with it after I cut it off. "You're not going to just wear it out in public like that, are you?"

Sigh.

This morning when I decided to get it cut, there was so much going on, so much reminding me that I really have to seize the day. I have to be fearless and just take the plunge. And besides, my sister tells me that if it looks totally crazy, she'll get someone she knows to hook me up with a weave.

Gosh, me plus a weave? Then I'd really be ready for my return to LA!

Wish me luck!