My leukemia's back.

[donrae]

From a daughter in law who had a mother in law that never held her tongue on pretty much anything...

for not fussing at them. They may not know how lucky they are to have you, but you're a blessing to your family!

I used to grow out and donate my hair to locks of Love. If any of you have kiddos in the pre-teen or early teen years, there are a good series of books on the Kindle called "Chop chop". They're Christian books, and deal with some pretty heavy issues (you may want to pre-read depending on your kiddo, they always have me bawling like a baby), but they show how God has a plan, even when we can't see it in the moment. Some of the characters donate hair, hence the title. Great books!

About my title---yeah. I'm driving 30 min down to the Big R store this am to see if they have any free chicks still (buy a bag of starter, get 5 free chicks). They're usually barred Rocks or Reds of some form. I'm wanting a few Rock ladies to put in with Eric, so that would work out nicely. If they only have Reds, well then I'll raise them up and probably sell them as point of lays in the spring. But who could expect me to pass up free chicks?

 

[N F C]

You can't beat free chicks Rachel, I hope they have some for you!

 

[Outpost JWB]

@Blooie , My daughter was 7 years old when she got her first real hair cut. It was all the way down to her knees!!!! She didn't want it cut and cried for DAYS before and after! It was just too time consuming for me to wash, brush out, fix, and take care of. The kids in school were even teasing her calling her Rapunzel. And I thought it was just time.

We got 14" cut off and of course saved it and donated it to Locks of Love. (There are plenty of other places to donate hair too, by the way.) Anyways, she is 9 years old and still HATES that it was cut. It's grown out well past her butt again, and she vowels to never get it cut again. I think she likes the attention she gets from people commenting how beautiful her hair is. But 9 times out of 10, she puts it in a bun.

This past spring, I was finally able to donate some of my own hair. My hair grows super slow & it's thin. Unlike hers.

Hope all goes well with your grand daughter's haircut.

 

[Blooie]

You know, it's funny that you should mention the hair getting the attention. In Kendra's case the first thing everyone notices is the wheelchair. She could just as well be wearing a football helmet. It's been that way since she got her first chair at 9 months old. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how we look at it) she can't complain and demand that we either keep it long or cut it short. She simply doesn't notice. Doing her hair isn't difficult. She's funny - she doesn't say "ow" or "don't" or "stop" when I'm brushing it out for the day. She's had so much done to her that hurts, and so many grownups saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie. You're okay." that when I hit a snarl she hunches up her little shoulders and says, "Sowwy sowwy", then in an entirely different tone of voice immediately says, "You okay." It's all one long sentence. So cute, but kinda sad at the same time.

I understand that Panetene has some kind of program for donating hair too - we'll have to look into that one as well as Locks of Love. I'm glad for kids like Ashley and folks like our Rachel that you and your daughter both donated. Our grandson used to do that all the time. He started when he was 12, and his hair grew so fast I swear you could almost hear it! We used to tease him and call him our "Chia Austin." He'd grow out this long, full mane of dark hair and then donate it. So when he was killed a couple of years ago we weren't surprised that he had checked the "organ donor" box on his driver's license. That was just who Austin was.

Rachel, did you ever read my poem about buying chicks? It fits you so well right now! I posted it somewhere here on BCY. If you're interested I'll try to find it. I try really hard not to interfere with the kids. I'm not always successful but grrrrrr sometimes they don't make it easy. The hair is no big deal to them, but it's breaking my heart. Right now it gets hung up in Kendra's newest chair somehow and it hurts, which is why they are cutting it. When they said they were going to cut it, I just kept repeating, "Pick your battles, Gramma, pick your battles."

 

[N F C]

Blooie, I'd like to hear your poem (and sure so would Rachel & everyone else) if you can find it.

Funny that people notice Kendra's chair first...how could they not see that beautiful child first? I swear, people are blind sometimes.

 

[Blooie]

Ode to Rachel​

I went into the feed store
Just to buy a bag of starter,
I knew there'd be new chicks inside
So today it would be harder.

I walked right past the brooder boxes
Looked neither left nor right,
I heard the little chickies peep
And vowed I'd avoid the sight.

After paying for my order,
And heading for the door,
I opted just to take a peek,
A quick look - nothing more.

So here I sit in my orange suit,
Waiting my case on the docket-
How the heck do you suppose
Those chicks got in my pocket?

 

[donrae]

Blooie, that's beautiful!

I called before I drove down today, they were out of the freebies. Oh well.

Had a Big Commotion coming from the pens around dusk. Went out to look and sure enough, broody Momma is up on the roost. Her babies are the ones stirring up all the fuss, she's been on the ground with them until now. Man can a few chicks make a lot of noise! I may give her a few days, but she's headed back in the big pen very soon. She's my only Marans, and I'd like to get some Olive eggers hatched before winter to sell in the spring.

 

[N F C]

Good morning!

Rachel, sorry they were out of freebies. I'd love to have an OE, they're on my wish list for next year (along with, ahem, a few others).

Just a heads-up...There's a virtual baby shower for one of our members over in the Family Life forum. Everyone is welcome so drop in if you'd like to say congratulations to OnlyOrps and have a piece of cake!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1019227/onlyorps-baby-shower-all-invited#post_15804447

Have a great day everyone!

 

[donrae]

Well, I had an excuse to drive down to Big R's area anyway, so I came home with 5 barred Rock pullets. They'll be Eric's girls next spring

 

[N F C]

Congrats on the new birds Rachel!