Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Be careful what you wish for…

The first sign of mental illness is hair on the toes
The second sign is looking for it.

Anonymous

When I was in 8th grade I was sitting along the gym wall at the start of gym class with the rest of the guys in class waiting to go outside for class. For some reason I noticed my lack of hair on my legs whereas others in my class had hair on their legs and wished I had more hair. Being an October child I should have known that my lack of hair was due to the fact that I was younger than my class and hadn't caught up in the hairy leg department yet. Of course being at that fragile age when you always want to be better than your peers, you tend to wish for things that you really have no control over. I'm sure that many of you have done the same— if not for hairy legs, then something else.

Fast forward six years…
By the time I was in college I realized that I was a "hairy man". I had hair everywhere— even on my toes (boy was I a hobbit). Probably due to this excess of hair, I wished again. This time I wished that I didn't have so much hair.

Fast forward to today…
One would think that hair loss would be maternal/paternal and that I should have the full set of hair my grandfather on my mother's side had— boy was I wrong. I have been thinning ever since I graduated from college (I tend to blame it on my crazy wish). This doesn't stop my first wish from still being true in more ways than one. I still have hair in unexpected places. It's as if all the hair I used to have on my head was now transplanted to strange places such as my ears and eyebrows.

I mentioned this to a co-worker to which they told me that I better be glad that all my hair wasn't summed up in one follicle. Imagine if all your hair was in one hair follicle coming out the top of your head. You would have to weave it into your head, eyebrows, etc. Gives new meaning to having a weave doesn't it…

12 comments:

Wendyburd1 said...

Ah man that second wish was too much Chris! You hexed the first wish! :)

Anonymous said...

Heh, heh, heh( checking my hairy toes but I swear I'm not mental...well, not yet ). Started balding at 17( thanks Pop! )but only in places you do see. Not fair, says I!

Little Ms Blogger said...

While wishing for lack of hair, did you wish you'd win lottery?

That would be fun to have come true.

Lori said...

Yep, we have to be careful what we wish for...I've even heard that wishing to win the lottery and then actually winning wasn't so good in the end but I'm sure willing to see for myself...lol.....but I suppose that would mean I need to buy a lottery ticket?

Barbaloot said...

Gosh-could you imagine one follicle? It would hurt! :)

Eternal Lizdom said...

My hair went through many transformations over the course of pregnancy, nursing, pregnancy, nursing. It grew faster, stronger, thicker. And then came out in handfuls with each brushing or shower. It's back to what I think is normal- aside from all the gray that I know I didn't have prior to becoming pregnant the first time... I had a few gray hairs but not all over!! So I know I have much to look forward to as my hair continues to evolve.

Erin said...

I love this! My six year old has been pointing out that he has hair on his arms and legs - like he's hoping he's growing up already. Maybe I need to remind him to be careful what he wishes for!

Anonymous said...

I think it's common to never quite be satisfied with our bodies, or at least some aspect of it. In part, I believe that our perception of our looks is off balance. Take my sister-in-law and I. We each think the other is thinner, has perfect hair, is more naturally beautiful, has better eyelashes, teeth, etc. And from what I can tell, it's mainly we focus on all of the minute imperfections of ourselves and just look at the overall picture of the other.

I've always been glad, though, to not have a ton of body hair. But then, I'm a girl.

Cajoh said...

@Barbaloot… I'm always fascinated by those rogue hairs that seem to be excessively long. I've seen some people who have one arm hair that reaches 3 inches or more.

@Eternal Lizdom… I admire your acceptance of how your hair evolves. I'll have to consider that myself.

@Erin… Rest assured I don't think that having hair makes you grow up any faster— but give him the warning just in case.

@Mina… You got me thinking about our own personal perceptions of ourselves and others— now how to blog about it.

Mike said...

My hair started thinning and graying in my 20's, but it seemed to thin to a point and now is holding its own!

Sprite's Keeper said...

That is the best way I've ever seen it spun. While I can't relate to the hair loss thing, I just love the way you pieced it together!

Casey said...

Wow, you've run the whole gamut of being hairless to hairy to hairless again.

If it makes you feel any better, I just had surgery in July and now my hair is falling out from some kind of anesthesia side effect. Pretty cool, no? It'll grow back, don't worry.

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