Ponytail Memories

For the first time ever, I was able to put my baby girl's hair into a ponytail this week. It was amazing for a lot of different reasons. First, I was suprised that I was even able to physically do it. I have never been able to do other people's hair. Usually, it's all I can do to do something with my hair. Blowing and styling my short hair was someting that was very difficult for me, which is one reason that I decided to start growing out my hair again. I am currently on a blow-dryer strike. I have not blow-dried my hair since school got out. One reason is that it helps the environment. Another reason is that it helps me not be sweaty while getting ready. A third reason is that my hair probably looks just as good, if not better. A fourth reason is that I just really hate blow-drying my hair. So, in all actuality, this blow-drying strike was not much of a sacrifice for me at all.

Anyways, I put Lou Lou's hair into a ponytail and it was too cute for words. It made me start to think about how crucial the ponytail has been in my life. The last couple of years, my hair has been too short for a ponytail. It sounds silly, but not being able to put my hair in a ponytail was a big deal. I had to figure out what to do when I went for a run and what to do when my hair just wouldn't look good (by the way, my solution to both problems = a bandana). Now that I can put my hair into a ponytail again, I feel a sort of kinship with my daughter and a connection to memories of my past ponytail days. :)

One of my first memories of my ponytail was when my mom went on a business trip to Chicago. While she was gone, my dad had to get me ready for school each day, including doing my hair. I remember standing in front of the mirror while my dad put my hair into a ponytail with three different flourescent-colored scrunchies. I picked them out. He did pretty good for a guy, I have to say.

Another memory I have is my mom putting my hair into a fancy ponytail for my first gymnastics meet ever. I was a member of the "Rainbow Team", and my mom separated my pony into sections, each one tied off with a rubber band in a different color of the rainbow. Cute, huh? Every gymnastics meet and every cross-country meet of my life have involved some sort of variation on the ponytail. Since these were major parts of my growing up experience, it makes sense that the pontytail would be such an important association.

My daughter now has a ponytail, which I associate with her getting bigger. Someday I will watch her pull her long hair up into a pony before she goes for a run, or performs at a dance recital, or tucks it into her marching band hat. Or maybe she'll play with it absent-mindedly while she studies for a test. Now I'll just have to teach her how to pull of the bandana. :)