Anyways. I thought it might be nice to accomplish one thing today, and seeing how tomorrow night is our big-fancy-special-adult party (a.k.a. the Juna Amagara 10 Year Anniversary Event), I thought it'd be cool to get Ree a new hair doo. She was looooong over due. (See what I did there?)
In Uganda a lot of little girls have shaved heads because its easier, cheaper and healthier. BUT, the little girls who do have longer hair styles usually have yarn twists. I thought----LET'S DO THIS! Because A.) It is so freakin adorable and B.) It is Ugandan and we are going to a Ugandan party and I love all things Uganda.
Ree has spent the last two hours spinning her head back and forth to feel her long hair bounce on her shoulders. She has never had hair longer than 2 inches and now VOILA! She calls herself a super star.
BUT. We got to the salon at 3:00pm. Everyone stared at me like what is she doing here. I was told to come back around 6:00pm. We ran errands and returned and. then. sat. waiting. until. 9:00. I know I'm crazy for actually waiting this long BUT Ree was adamant that she was not leaving without her twists! She watched Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo AND Despicable Me before they even touched her head.
At 9:00 they finally got her in a chair only to tell us....they didn't have any yarn. You can imagine how critical yarn might be to make yarn twists.
While they fixed that personal problem, I was having the nicest conversation with the sweetest Nigerian woman who had just got her hair did. She was talking with Ree, asking about Juna Amagara, and gave me some of the nicest compliments I've heard to date. All of the sudden a man was taking off his coat ready to fight her husband because he was upset about something she was saying about blacks and whites and immigrants. I couldn't even try to explain to you his thought process if I tried. Nothing about our conversation was meant to start a race debate. I believe his feelings began when I walked in the door. All I understood about his yelling was that it extremely prejudicial, aggressive and I have a 6'5'' angry man pointing a finger in my face and trying to pull his T-shirt over his head. At me, the only white lady, in a salon where all I want to do is get yarn twists for my baby because I find them so fabulous. RIGHT.
Eventually the police stepped in and asked him to leave. And eventually Ree's hair was finished and we bolted out of there.
Like I said, it was totally worth it. I learned some valuable lessons tonight about how other's can perceive situations that involve color. Lemme just clear the confusion right now. If Ree was purple or green or white we would celebrate her beautiful skin just the same as we celebrate it now. And Ree has thrived since she has been with me. She is consumed in love, no matter that I am white.
If that man had taken ONE SECOND to look at Ree's ear-to-ear smile, her adoring glances at me from across the room, her need to always be tangled up in my arms or legs.... he would see that Ree and I KNOW.... love doesn't have any color.
When we were finally finished Ree had tears in the corners of her eyes. I asked her, What's wrong baby? Are the braids too tight? And she said, No I just feel like a Rockstar tonight.
Then she turned around and asked the lady to twist my head too. I laughed it off saying, That would take forever! Look how much hair I have, we'll be here until tomorrow! And she replied:
I can wait forever for you.
If you ask Ree what Hairspray is about she will tell you: It's 'bout all kids dancin together. Everybody dancin and making friendships together and the black boy kisses the yellow girl (Amanda Bynes). And I love Link sooooo much.
If my four year old can understand love is color blind, why can't the rest of us? Sometimes it is best to see the world through the eyes of children. She makes me so proud.
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