Friday, November 9, 2007

Everything Grows

When I first started this adventure, you may recall that we had to remove the ailing, back-yard oak tree that covered up a multitude of sins. Among those sins were a chain-link fence, clear sight of our neighbor's back patio, a half-dozen scrawny Nandinas that failed to thrive under the oak's darkness and a tall, branchless tree that looked more like a bamboo pole.

I couldn't stand the sight of that overgrown sapling and instructed the gardeners to yank her out. "No, Mrs. Susan," they pleaded with me. "It is not dead yet. Just give it time and you will see new growth because the tree can now see the light." I responded, "Grumble, grumble."

Two weeks went by, and I still saw no signs of growth. I asked them once more to remove the sickly sapling, but, again, they refused.

A week later, I started to notice new shoots of limbs and leaves. A month later, the tree was green all over, and it continues to grow.

The offensive tree is now lush with foilage.


I can't help but make comparisons with my own scalp. Within months, I went from bald to budding to bountiful swirls of curls. It's the circle of hair life. I call it my "kewpie doll" look, but one of my friends says I have a "faux hawk," kind of like a mohawk wanna' be.

I'll soon lose my hair once again, thanks to the massive doses of chemo prior to the "rescue procedure." I'll go from bountiful to bald to budding and back to bountiful because, as everyone knows, everything grows.

The offensive scalp is now covered with
lush swirls and curls.


6 comments:

Karen said...

Cool! I remember when that tree was just beginning to sprout, and also when that head was just beginning to sprout. :-)

At least this time when the hair goes, you'll be like, "No big deal, it'll grow back. Plus everyone's seen me bald anyway, so no big shock there."

What kind of tree is it?

Anonymous said...

What a great story!!!! I saw a documentary recently about catastrophic volcanic eruptions, the magic part was seeing sprouts of life back on a devastated land just a few weeks after the lava burnt everything. Growth is uncontrollable and irrepressible (if that's a word?!)

Thinking about you.

Anonymous said...

My hair has gone in cycles of straight and then wavy. The most recent one occurred after I had Nathan ( 6 years ago! ) It went from almost completely straight to the waviest it's ever been. Wondering if your hair is curlier now than before or if a straight-iron has been your friend? From youth, I remember it being straight and long.

Anonymous said...

My sister's hair seemed wavier after she had her son, but I thought I was just imagining things. My hairdresser, however, said that hair texture often changes after chemically or hormonally-induced hair loss because the shape of the follicle changes.

We just got back from our trip, and I'm glad to see you're progressing with your treatment.

Best,
Barbara

Piper Robert said...

Hey Sis, check this out. Trunk monkey.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee3L9BQQ4Gs

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