Hats off to Survivors (or hats on or wig off)

Shortly after my diagnosis with Breast Cancer some dear friends hosted a "Hat party" in my honor. It was a beautiful way to show me support and ready me for the dreaded hair loss. The hair loss was the biggest concern I had. I was convinced that being bald would be the one thing that told people I had cancer. I felt that people would stare and that I would be very uncomfortable. I was the recipient of hats of every style, shape and size. Bright hats, simple hats, caps, fancy hats - you name it and I got it. I actually loved trying them on - I had always loved hats. Ironic that something that I always loved was now something that I dreaded. I was not embracing the thought of wearing a hat.

I also had a wig. If I must say so myself - I had a good wig. It fooled many people. Or at least everyone seemed to be fooled! Who knows people also told me I had good color and I know that was not true! Anyway - back to the hats and wig. My sweet friend Traci helped me pick out the perfect wig. For you see I have red hair and it is not a typical red from a bottle color. It is my unique color that is all natural God given red. So I had to settle for a color that was not mine. Although it was different I actually liked the color and was pretty pleased. The problem with the wig - ITCHY! Wigs itch and they shift and they don't look really good when wet!

The first time my husband admitted that people stared at me was on a trip to Ft. Worth, Texas. We were having breakfast early one morning in the hotel lobby (the continental type) and I was only wearing my bandanna. The bandanna was my go-to head covering at home. My husband admitted later that people definitely stared at me. Yep - I knew it.

On to my funny wig story - While in Ft. Worth we took in a baseball game. Took some cousins with us and sat out in the left field lower seats. Good seats - good company - but not under cover. At some point into the game the weather appeared to going south fast. Big rain drops started and I knew that the wig was going to be a wet mess in a big hurry. So I did what I had to do. I pulled my bandanna out of my backpack and pulled the wig off and stuffed it down into the backpack. I then put the bandanna on my head and sat right through the slight rain. I really really think you could have heard a pin drop in the stands around us at that point. People were pretty much dumb founded at some crazy lady pulling off a wig in broad daylight! My kids tried to hide their embarrassment - but I seriously had no choice. I was not going to sit with a wet wig - no sirree - not acceptable.

So - hats off to all the survivors who are confident enough to go bald or with just a hat or scarf or with a wig. Next time I'll tell you what you CAN'T do with a wig on!

Love you guys.

Diane