#MarieKondo, a dumpster and a set of braids.

I didn’t need #MarieKondo to nudge me into organizing this month.  I’ve always been a ‘tosser’.   This month’s super-gratifying cleanse filled a dumpster (no joke) and sent 12 giant bags to the donation bin.  But just like every annual purge, I stumbled on one item that gave me pause.

This year it was the long braids that my mom carefully packed after my grade 5 haircut.  It was the year I went from boho child to the fantastic Dorothy Hamill wannabe.  Dorothy had a shampoo gig after her Olympic figure skating victory, giving me the inspiration I needed to finally go ‘short and sassy’ (Also the shampoo name btw).

I lost my mom nearly 5 years ago. She kept so many treasures that deciding what to keep has been an ongoing challenge.  She has to be giggling from above watching me squirm – she knew I was a tosser.  Seriously, what am I supposed to do with these braids now? Do I pass them on to my kids? Do I donate 40 year old locks? Throw them out? There’s guilt everywhere I turn.

Suffice it to say, I may have kept one or both of my kids’ first haircuts. At least I think I did. But unlike mom (whose cataloguing was better than the Dewey Decimal System), I have no clue where they are. I didn’t inherit my mom’s expert logging capabilities so it’s possible they got stuffed in a pocket then thrown into the wash, garbage, or both. I’m hoping to stumble on at least one so I can divvy it up and label it mom-style. They’ll never know.

So, I’m not sure what to do with these foot-long braids. I’ve considered removing mom’s label and keeping the hair. I get a bit of a smile thinking about my daughter, 40 years from now, stumbling upon two braids without any explanation. They’re a bit creepy without any frame of reference. Keeping them also saves my DNA, giving future generations the opportunity to clone me. At least that’s what a friend suggested. Seems like I should at least leave that door open.

Here’s looking at you Ma … always giving me something to think about.