Wandering the North End tonight, we discovered that a Pinkberry – my favorite yogurt place – just opened on Hanover St., diagonal from Mike’s Pastry. Not being able to resist, we joined the line.
When it was my turn, I asked to try cherry, since it’s one flavor I haven’t sampled. As I tasted it, the girl behind the counter kept looking and smiling at me. ‘I just love your curls,’ she finally said. That, of course, caused a huge stupid grin to appear on my face. ‘Thank you so much!’ I exclaimed.
My perma-grin lasted as we got our treats and headed out the door. I turned to Chris and asked, ‘Do you think she knows I had cancer? That she knows I was bald and this is new hair and she’s just being nice?’
‘No,’ he assured me. ‘How could she tell? She just likes your hair. It’s beautiful. No one can tell.’
And that just made my night. Maybe my week. So the next time you see a stranger – or someone you know, doesn’t matter – and you like their hair or their shoes or their dog or their super polite children, tell them. Smile and say it. I bet you’ll make their day.
Amy's America 
Its nice to hear someone else is going through the same exact thing as me at the same exact time. My hair is dark and curly and everyone keeps telling me that I’m lucky I can pull it off(sometimes I think they are just being nice) but it feels good when people say it. I started my chemo last sept. 10 and finished with radiation on April 8th so yea my hair looks about the same length as yours right now. I’m just waiting for it to grow longer and I can try to do something else with it!! LOL Glad your feeling better and so am I! Good luck with all your new endearvors, including dating, I haven’t done that yet and nervous to so its nice to hear about your experiences!! 🙂
Hi Stacy,
I know – doesn’t it help so much when you hear about others and know you’re not the only one going through all this in that way??? Many people refer to this as the club you never wanted to join, and I completely agree, but you do meet the best people here! And I’m so glad you’re doing well!!! Yes, I can’t wait for my hair to be able to do anything – I’m so sick of headbands but they seem to be all that helps for the moment… 🙂
Wow! What a neat story! I am pretty much in the same place, with “new hair” that’s just been growing (slowly!) for 5 1/2 months. I was almost more embarrassed to shed the hats and allow my Big Ears (which I have kept covered with long hair since Middle School) to show. But my hair came in curly too (although much grayer than before) and people have been so kind with their warm comments that at 58 years old, I went and got my ears pierced for the first time! Yes…kind words are more precious than gold!
Oh my gosh, Kay, that’s awesome! So proud of you for getting your ears pierced! I guess we really do learn to relax and be comfortable with ourselves, after being bald! And I have to say, I love fun earrings both when I was bald and now with the short hair. But nothing is better than those kind words from strangers to make you feel comfortable – and normal!
This just reminded me of the first time I met you at the Genzyme dinner before the marathon… I thought, “What a cool haircut – she’s so lucky she can pull that off!”.
Thanks Gail! I am just so thankful it’s grown so much since then!!! 🙂