Ahhh...the Headshave.  Was unsure how I would handle this but so glad I went.   Had a few moments when I thought I might burst into tears but managed to hold it together.   Lots of hugs!  Man I do miss those hugs!  Saw a few of my favourite parents as well!  It felt so good to be back in my gym, my stomping ground for 16 years, but as I looked out at the body of kids I was shocked at how many I didn’t know.  Lots of new children.  One little guy kept coming up and hugging me and I know for a fact I’ve never seen him in my life!!!  7 participants in the headshave this year.  Three boys (all repeat head shavers), three girls (all first timers....most girls only ever do it once, self included, although it is looking as if I will soon be a repeater) and one parent.  My thanks to all the kids and their families who continue to support and honour this wonderful event.  Also thanks to Lori Holford for her work in organizing and making sure it happened!  As always I was totally blown away by the effort that has been put into this.  The grade 5/6 classes have been busy running recess bake sales and have been making $100 a day.  They are also organizing the third annual used toy sale which is a hugely popular event!  Lori wasn’t sure what the total was this year but I know that when I went on the website to make my donation they were at over $5000 on line and from previous experience the online donations are much lower than the cash donations.  Also the bake and toy sale money has not yet been tallied so I’m guessing it will again be a pretty impressive contribution that Ranchlands School will be making to the Terry Fox Foundation.  My heartfelt thanks!  It is an event that I loved organizing and will continue to support!

Got up this morning and debated....on which hair I should go in. The original or the purchased!   After a little thought it occurred to me that I would get the most honest reaction from the kids about my new do.  So off I went feeling a little silly but knowing that if it looked bad I could count on a kid to tell me that.  Those little guys notice everything!!!  I know that when I was working and showed up to school after getting my hair coloured I could expect the following comment, not once, but several times over the course of the day!  “Mrs Sherlock....did you DYE your hair?”  My answer was usually “No I COLOURED my hair!”   It’s not so much that they said it....it’s that they always seemed amazed that I would do that and I got the same question repeatedly over for the course of the entire day, sometimes two days!  After I confirmed their suspicions they would look at me thoughtfully and then give me their opinion.  My favourite was...”Hmmm....you look much younger!”  Today, however, not one kid even seemed to notice there was anything different about me, except of course for my voice.  A couple commented on it.  One asked if I had a cold.  Another asked if I still had cancer.  I answered yes but I’m doing my best to get better!  Several demanded to know when I was coming back!  Ahh....you gotta love kids.  They speak their minds better than any adults I know.

Left the school feeling a little nostalgic.  Honestly, there are some parts of work I don’t miss a bit but their are bigger parts that have played a role in almost half my life and I have come to realize how much I miss those things, namely the children.  I taught for 34 years and almost half of this was spent at Ranchlands School!

After the headshave it was back to the hospital for hydration!  First needle poke in three weeks.  Can’t say as I have missed that but I had a good nurse today and she was in on the first try which I always appreciate.  I have not had any chemo (not even pill chemo) for three days now.  My doctor said I could take a break until Friday.  Don’t know if it’s psychological but I feel wonderful!   Tonight however it’s back to the dexamethasone which I have to take before the IV chemo which is scheduled for tomorrow, so I can count on the next four nights being restless nights while I’m taking that!  Yucky stuff!

Finished up there and headed off to see Colleen Jurgens's adorable new baby girl, Olivia Rose!  What a beautiful baby and I’m not just saying that!  Colleen is a special person in the Ranchlands “history” of the Terry Fox Run.  She is the person who got this whole headshaving movement going.  She was the one who said that if the kids could beat their record of $5000 she would shave her head!  The funny part of it is I think she raised over $2000 that year herself, so she kind of sealed her own fate!  It was also the year I beaked off and said that if the kids could raise$10,000 I would shave my head.  I also talked several other women on staff into saying the same, promising them that there was not a chance  the kids could do it.  There were only four days left until the headshave and at that point I think we were sitting at around $6000.  Well, thanks to our secretary at the time, Bernice, (who got busy emailing everyone who knew us), the school raised over $13,000 that year.  Shocking for those of us who never thought we would have to put our money where our mouths were!  I must say having no hair was an interesting experience.  People do stare openly at you, thinking that you are a cancer patient and one of our teacher’s boyfriends at the time asked her what kind of girl I was! I don’t know if you’ve seen that movie (I think it was called Fifty First Dates) where the woman loses her memory and every morning she wakes up beside her husband screaming because she has lost her short term memory and doesn’t recognize who the man in bed beside her is.  Well, for the first several mornings Bill would look at me and say he totally understood how that women felt.  When he opened his eyes, he too felt like screaming!   It certainly does give you insight into what cancer patients go through when their disease becomes visible to everyone because of their hair loss!  When I went to the school today, Bill was sure I would get caught up in the event and shave my head along with the kids. I do have an impulsive streak so it was a totally plausible possibility.   It’s different this time though,  because I know it is inevitable that it is going to happen.  I’m in no hurry to get there......
I want to enjoy this frizzy mess for a little longer!