Who has two thumbs and is about to be bald? THIS GIRL!

About a month ago I came downstairs after a long quiet shower and while my husband was cooking eggs for the kids I dropped what I thought was going to be a bombshell.  He didn't even look up at me.  Without missing a beat he flipped the eggs frying in the pan and calmly responded "Ok babe, I'll support you in whatever."  So of course I picked a fight (I mistook his support for apathy) proving yet again that Mark really can't say anything right.  That poor man.  I am married to a great man - and he knew exactly who I was and what he was signing up for - somehow this still baffles me.  And, as it turns out, I really can't shock him anymore.  

I am shaving my head. As in bald. Totally bald. 

I am doing this for the St. Baldricks foundation at an event here in Michigan in May and I'll be hitting you up for a financial donation.  Cheers. 

Now that all my cards are on the table, let me also say I AM TERRIFIED!  

I keep telling my husband "oh my God I'm so scared" and my man looks at me and reminds me "that's a bullshit reason NOT to do something - come up with a better reason not too."  

Guess what?  I can't.  And I tried too, I really did.

This is actually the entire intent behind this post - this is my version of the dude who pushes you out of a plane when you sky dive. If I make it public, which I see as the ultimate commitment, then I can't just sit at home and spend the next two months wavering back-and-forth continuing to drive my hubby mad or chicken out last minute. Once it's out there I am committed, there's no going back.

So, I'm shaving my head. 

Not So Fun Fact:

Childhood cancers have risen 20% since 1975.  Brain cancers and soft tissue sarcomas have risen 25%.  

What. The. F*ck!

The good news is that mortality rates have decreased, research has improved, treatments expanded and we only learn more each and every day.  But it doesn't change the fact that every day, 43 parents are told "your child has cancer".  Wow.  I have no words for this and I rarely lack words.

After becoming a mom I was profoundly changed by my love for my kids and the idea of them battling cancer is just too much emotion to articulate.   

Moving outside of childhood cancers, breast cancer is also on the rise.  In the 60's 1 in 20 women were diagnosed with breast cancer.  Today it's 1 in 8, and the number of women who are genetically at risk - that number hasn't changed.  

Also increasing is the number of women ages 18-25 who are having a hard time getting pregnant or maintaining pregnancy.  That number is up FORTY PERCENT from 1982. 

Also on the rise, Autism, Allergies, ADHD and Asthma.

So the big question is "why"? 

I happen to be in a school of thought that one factor may be environmental.  It's why I am so passionate about Beautycounter and their mission.  It's also why you will rarely hear me talking about increasing government regulations except here. INCREASE THESE REGULATIONS PLEASE! The chemicals allowed into our personal care products are not at all regulated, there is no one making sure they are tested for health and safety the last time a law was passed concerning this was 1938. 

There's a local organization here in Michigan called Children With Hair Loss and they will accept donations of hair 8 inches or longer that has been colored.  My ponytail alone is 18 inches.  It's possible I have enough hair to make TWO, really thick, rather long, wigs.  These wigs are provided for free to children in need, but it costs about $1400 to make each wig. 

No Such Thing As a Selfless Good Deed

I don't want this (the shaving of the head) to come across as a humble brag or some sort of virtue signaling, both of those two things annoy the holy hell out of me.  I am just as scared of hearing "you're so brave" as I am to wake up the day after bald.  I'm not really that brave or that altruistic and I don't want to pretend that I am.  I'd like to be, but I don't think that I am, not yet.  The kids who have to start school bald - they are brave. The parents who are waiting on their child's brain scans - they are brave.  The woman who looses her hair outside of her control - she is brave.  The young girl who is diagnosed with cancer and undergoes a hysterectomy before becoming a mom- she is brave.  Me, I'm curious. I get to do this as a choice, many do not.

This idea already pretty much jives with the cloth from which I was cut.  I have a natural tendency to be dramatic and eccentric, and I really like to push my own boundaries for what I'm comfortable with (being bald, even for a short time is pretty outside of what I'm comfortable with).  However, as a functioning adult the healthy outlets for this personality are limited.  Joey Tribbiani said something wise and true when he taught us there is truly no such thing as a totally selfless good deed.  I'm not so secretly hoping to learn a thing or two about myself here - this seems like the ultimate way to say (to myself) no, you're not defined by something as silly or as superficial as hair or even traditional beauty standards - dig deeper.  This amazing charity allows me to see the other side of that mountain without a Brittney Spears style meltdown.  No, politics didn't get to me so badly that I'm shaving my head.  But yes, I'm in the mood to do something that feels unifying - raising money for cancer seems pretty unifying.  I'll probably get really into earrings and lipstick for awhile.  All in all, It's a win/win - my favorite of all the wins. 

I hope that you will support me in this endeavor.  Please help me in reaching my first goal of $1000. I couldn't think of a better way to come together, on something we all agree upon, and together support children and families during their darkest hours.  

If you go to this link https://www.stbaldricks.org/donate you can enter my name, Kristi See, and make a donation towards my goal. 

I'm sure leading up to this you'll hear more about it from me, some more on the why's the reasons I love Beautycounter and what they are doing to help clean up our products - and I'm sure they'll be a bit on my fear....but if I may talk in bumper sticker speak for a minute: Nothing good is usually easy and nothing easy is usually good.  I'm going to hang on to that one for awhile while I gear up.

Now, I just have to find the courage to hit "publish".