When I adopted my daughter, Hope, from Ethiopia she was 10 months old. At that point she had really very little hair. I tried to start off caring for her hair properly, but I really didn't grow in my confidence to do so those first months home. When Hope was about 15 months old, a dear friend helped to teach me some of what I would need to know to really care for Hope's hair. I also began to search out resources online to learn as much as I could to care for her hair well.
Somewhere along the line, it began to feel completely natural to care for Hope's hair (pun unintended). A couple of things took me by surprise: (1) How surprised people would be that I was the one caring for and styling my daughter's hair, and, (2) How many compliments I would receive from people (mainly African American females!) on the job I was doing with Hope's hair. It was even suggested by some that I should have a blog devoted to natural hair care!
Back to number one, though... this idea that it was surprising to people (and this seemed to mainly be Caucasian women) that I was the one caring for and styling Hope's hair. Don't get me wrong, here, I do realize that her hair and the needs of her hair are different than my own, and I do realize the challenges presented with properly caring for Hope's hair. It just never occurred to me, though, that anyone other than Hope's mom would fill this need for her. I did have to learn what to do (and how and why), but never would I have considered not doing what I needed to learn those things. She's my daughter, and I'm her mom. Being the one to care for my daughter's hair is not something I would give up!
This blog has been created out of my desire to document for Hope her hair journey, and as a place to celebrate the beauty of natural hair. I hope that others will come along with us, and perhaps that some of what I've learned can be of help to other moms as well.
Blessings,
Nikki
No comments:
Post a Comment