Little Update

OK..............This is concerning my youngest and his little locs. They are growing and growing and his retights were going well, until I switched gel and MAN OH MAN WHAT A MESS. After his July 4th retight, his locs looked GREAT. Then I noticed that his hair was looking 'dusty/dirty'

and they felt crunchy. So, I decided to wash and retighten them again. When I sat down to go through his locs and get a good look at them, I also noticed that he had about 3 inches of new growth - MAN THIS BOY 'S HAIR GROWS FAST and gel buildup!! So I knew I was going to have to make a drastic change in his overall routine, one that would allow frequent washing, no gel buildup and get his hair under control.

This weekend, I washed his hair with a very strong shampoo, conditioned it with jojoba oil in my favorite conditioner - spritzed it generously with my Rosemary oil/water mix and did the retightening using the interloc method. Because he's much more active now, I will have to wash his hair more frequently, so my gel and twist method is OVER for him. I have to say, it took almost 4 hours to retighten his hair because he had so much of it that needed to be tightened. So, here he is, no more dusty locs. LOL!!

P.S. That gel went into the TRASH!!

Peace Lovies!!

August Retight

Well, I just finished my monthly retight and here are some updates:

I had to do a lot more separating this time around. I think I need to do a better job of that when I wash my hair.

The retightening didn't take as long - I know I'm getting a little faster at doing it, but I really think it's going faster because I am keeping to a very strict 4 week schedule. My hair is so dense, that my hair start to do some funny things if I go any longer between retightenings.

My hair is definitely starting to lock up - I have noticed that the braid pattern is starting to disappear.

I combined about 5 or 6 of them because I wasn't comfortable with how they felt at the roots (can't really explain that any further). I figured, combine them now or risk losing them later - so I went with combining. LOL!!

Here are a few pics:

It's been so hot here lately, now I can actually feel the wind on my scalp. LOL!!!!!

Peace Lovies!!

What's Going On (Final)

A little update on my middle son, Bryen. For those that don't know, he marches with a drum corps and was told by one of the assistant directors back in March that in order to march this summer he had to cut his hair. Of course, I wasn't happy and neither was my son. The director told me in a very unprofessional email that the corp had to maintain a certain "image" and that "trendy, edgy, urban hairstyles were not acceptable"...........

Well, my son did his reasearch and found out that several trendy, edgy styles had been tolerated from caucasions in the past. One of the drum majors (who is also white) told my son "The director is an idiot, I think your hair is cool and you definitely should NOT cut it".

Long story short, the head directors WIFE told Bryen at the beginning of the season that he should not consider cutting his locks - he had the right to express himself. She told him in front of the rest of the staff "Just make sure they are neatly tucked under your helment during competition and everything would be just fine.

This article appeared on July 18th in a local newspaper:

Tuba player Bryen Warfield practices with the Bluecoats of Canton, Ohio, on Wednesday at C.H. Collins Athletic Complex. The Bluecoats and seven other groups will compete in the Red River Thunder Drum and Bugle Corps show at 6 p.m. Sunday. www.cavaliers.org.

As you can see, my baby's lovely locs (that he maintains himself) are alive, well and doing just fine. So what have we learned from this little test? Perseverance!! Don't be afraid to be who you are - be comfortable with your style choices (dress, hair, etc.). When you are confronted with the kind of fear and ignorance my son had to deal with, don't be afraid to do your research and stand very strong.

Peace Lovies!!

Little Locs

This is my youngest son. He's 13 and we are very sure that he is actually my father-in-law sent back to us because God has a sense of humor!! This boy is an absolute MESS, he has a hed full of thick coily hair - that he never wanted to comb and absolutely HATED getting it cut. He did sport a little fro for about a year but his hair is so thick and grows so fast, keeping up with it was darn near impossible.

I installed his locs in August of last year. So, he's just a few weeks shy of his 1 year mark. Here are a few pics of him. Those little locs of his definitely do their own thang most times, he looks like a little martian because he has antenni sticking up off the top of his head.......but he's so dang CUTE, he pulls it off with very little effort.

This pic on the right was taken when I started his last retight.

As you can see, there is NO visible SCALP. LOL!!

The pics above were taken right after I finished his retight. Of course, he does NOT like taking pictures, so getting him to stand still long enough to take this picture was like catching mosquitos! HA HA HA.

His ends are still closing up but everything else is fully loc'd. This was the best decision we ever made for him and he's lovin' his little journey.

Peace Lovies!!

Comparisons

A member of one of the groups I am in asked me a very interesting question. She is considering installing her own traditional locs and asked me if there was any difference between locs started with comb coils and locs started as two-strand twists. While the installation technique is totally different, there is very little difference between the two once the hair is fully loc'd. I thought that was a really good question - so I decided to post some comparison pictures. As far as I can tell, the only difference may be in the size of the loc. But, as you can see, there is no real visible difference.

The pic on the left is my oldest son, whose locs were started as comb coils in a salon. The pic on the right is of my youngest, I started his locs with two-strand twists.

Thought Therapy

The weather is relatively cool today - mid 70's with a slight breeze. I've openned the windows of my house to let the fresh air blow through and rush out all the funny smells and vibes that tend to collect in my home during the winter months and the hot days when the AC is constantly running.

Last night my daughter gave me India.Arie's newest CD as a gift "Testimony: Vol 2" if you haven't purchased this masterpiece you definitely NEED to get it.

A cool summer's breeze is blowing through my bedroom windows, India is playing and I am compelled to share an experience I had today. One of my co-workers is having a particularly difficult time right now, they have 5 children, she's working part-time and her husband is out of work. They recently lost their home and are living with her brother who is letting her know by his words and actions that she and her family are imposing on him (forgetting that he once lived with her and her family while he got on his feet). She told me today that this downward spiral started about 5 years ago and it is her and her husband's own undoing. Long story short, they both have spent time in jail and they are both on probation at this time. She said, "I'm sure it was one of my secretaries who turned me in, I don't blame them, I was doing wrong, basically stealing from my company and needed to be caught. Going to jail for 27 months was the best thing that could have happened to me. During that time of being isolated from my family I came to understand that I caused my own imprisonment".

Many of us are in one sort of prison or another, maybe a relationship that has gone haywire, some kind of loss, a health issue that has you bound, a financial mess, etc. I am a firm believer in looking inward BEFORE you look to outside sources for the cause of your current circumstance and talking with my co-worker today confirmed this belief. Even with all of this going on, she feels that she's in a process that they must go through to learn a higher lesson, so she's being patient with the process and trusting both God and her own heart. We don't cause every situation that takes place in our lives, sometimes things just hit us out of nowhere (i.e. a cancer diagnosis, a illness upon one of our children, death of a parent, death of a friend, etc) so we should never beat ourselves up when somehting happens.

We all have times where we feel isolated, emotionally or physically (can't talk to anybody about what's going on, friends are nowhere to be found, etc). If that's your situation, right now, don't sit and wait for someone to come along and heal you or rescue you - that's the worse thing you can do. The best thing you can do for your mind and spirit is to start your own process of growth and/or healing by looking within, being honest about what you may or may not have done to bring about your situation. IF you find that some energy within you needs to be released (anger, guilt, sadness, shame, etc.) release it immediately. How do you release: channel that energy into something (i.e. writing yourself a letter and forgiving yourself, writing a letter to someone who you feel has harmed you in some way and forgiving them, yoga, aerobics, swimming, running, biking, dancing, singing - whatever activity you do that you truly enjoy). AVOID destructive habits like smoking, drinking and/or sex because channeling your negative energy into those activities leads to dependance on those things to make you "feel better". This is not about "feeling better - or forgetting your problems for a little while" this is about unlocking things within - bringing them out into your own plain eyesight and dealing with them so they don't continue to 'deal' with YOU.

Continue to Grow. Continue to GLOW.

Peace Lovies!!

The Beauty of a Man!

As I struggle to make peace with things happening around me - things that I have no control over, wouldn't want to have the power to control, but yet, these things are still the source that motivates me to write this post.

We all had to take our time to come to grips with the sudden death of Michael Jackson. Most of us remember the bright eyed innocent wonder with the wide brimmed purple hat aced/deuced to one side mesmerizing us with his vocals on the Ed Sullivan Show back in the 70's. Some of us hold fondly to the memories of him amazing us by moon-walking into his destiny in 1995. Whatever your memory of him is, hold to the positive and not the negatives that will surely surface - because as we know every fool on the planet has something to say about someone who's dead and can no longer defend himself.

On a personal note, the cherry on the pie of my month (June) started the day before father's day when I was awakened by my husband who said firmly "You need to get up and get dressed, Steve had a heart attack and is on his way to the hospital" (Steve is about 22 years older than me and is one of the best friends I ever had). So, I sprung out the bed, set a world record for the "Fastest Female to get Cleaned up and Dressed" and hurried across town to the hospital.
As the days went on, I sat with his wife of 40 years, and watched his son (36) and daughter (38) struggle with the closure that was sure to come. On Tuesday, I was blessed to be present when the neurologist delivered bad news to the family - news that Steve's daughter would not allow herself to accept (can't say that I blame her). Wednesday, I was their when they started dialysis because his kidneys were shutting down. Thursday, my husband and I watched him have electronic seizures and the brain monitors showed how his brain activity was rapidly decreasing. So, I said my goodbyes, thanked him for his unfailing friendship and began to ask myself and my husband, "What am I going to do without Steve?". This question sums up the ultimate struggle that I am still having today. On the way home from the hospital, it was announced that Michael Jackson died......WHAT??

Saturday, Steve's wife, children, and our pastor (who was a long-time friend of Steve's) met with his team of doctors so they could confirm everything that we already knew, He was gone and the only thing keeping him alive was the respirator. The following Monday, I took my kids to see "Transformers" - which was a welcomed break from it all............I had the strangest revelation during that movie and it was confirmed about 45 minutes later that my beloved friend, confidant, the consumate joker, the kindest man I had ever known was GONE.

Perhaps the most ironic thing is, both Steve and Michael died of the same thing. They both had massive heart attacks (brought on by totally different things, of course). The big difference was, Steve was at home with his wife when it happened and Michael was 'presumed' to be alone at the time his hit. Nevertheless, another good person is gone and I am left with 1,000 funny stories about him and memories that I will keep with me forever.

Even more fascinating, at the time that most people were huddled around their TV sets or computers watching the memorial service of Michael Jackson (an Indiana native son) we were laying to rest our dearest friend (another Indiana native son).

Steve's son gave a beautiful tribute today at his funeral, he said "I have nothing to be sad about, my father lived a wonderful life, did everything he wanted to do. We had a good relationship, talked often I will miss him, but I am at peace with it because I am proud of the life he led and the legacy he leaves behind."

That's the beauty of a beautiful man. Goodbye dear friend, I will miss you terribly and remember you fondly, until we meet again!!!!!!!!

Peace Lovies!!