I love Missy Woo's hair. She was actually born with quite dark hair which has gradually lightened and is now a gorgeous dark golden blonde. Her hair, usually straight as a poker without extra help, looks like millions of fine golden threads are falling from her scalp, glossy and shining like they have almost been polished. Other mothers have told me that they would give anything for hair like hers.
When she was very little, her hair on the top of her head would stick up because she has a double crown. The only way to make it lie flat is to keep it long. It's reached her waist now, a budding Rapunzel.
Having long hair is a double-edged sword. It looks pretty and she loves that it makes her look almost princess-like, but combing it is a task of Herculean proportions and is bound to elicit tears when tangles are reached. And that's just me. Even the special tangle combs hurt her occasionally. At least tying it up for school means that it gets less tangled but even then, she manages to get food in her hair all the time.
And yes, school has exposed her to that ever-present menace, headlice. She got them earlier in the term when her hair came out of her ponytail one day at school. Attempting to get them out with a comb took hours but the masses of golden threads were a perfect hiding place for the nasty little critters and it took resorting to some nasty liquid which turned her hair greasy to exterminate them all for good.
When I was her age, my hair was almost as long. I had it all cut off when I was a few years older than her. My choice. Looking back, it was a mistake. I hope that she keeps it for a lot longer than I did but she knows her mind and I wouldn't stand in her way if that's what she wanted.
She is a beautiful child in spirit as well as appearance, but nothing defines her more than her burnished blonde hair.
