For the month of love, what better time to tell the story of how my husband fell in love with the new me?! We decided to write this short story together, one part coming from me, and then his personal thoughts on my transition to natural hair. Enjoy!
Alicia James:
I still remember the day when I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror playing in my hair. I was really intrigued with my new curly coily hair. I looked at my husband and told him how weird I thought my hair was. I started to imagine what it would look like without the straight pieces of lifeless hair. I want to tell you that when I stopped getting relaxers, I didn’t know that meant I was going natural. I had no idea that my natural hair was different from my relaxed hair. I was really confused by the changes happening with my hair. I told my husband how I was thinking about cutting off the straight ends to see what my hair would look like. My husband looked at me, gave me that million dollar smile I love, and said, “Go for it!” He said this over and over again. The finality of it made me a little nervous and I asked him if he was sure! And from that look in his eye, he was very sure! I whipped the scissors out and yes, I started cutting and chopping away at my hair. When I was done, I was left with a teeny weenie fro. I stared in the mirror and honestly remembered an overwhelming feeling of relief. I didn’t know it would feel this way… amazing! Then I also started to think what in the world did I just do? I just chopped my hair off. There were so many different emotions going through me, but I liked it! For some strange reason, I knew things were going to be different. I looked over to my husband, and said “So babe, what do you think?”
Kelly James:
Without hesitation I replied “I love it”! I actually did love it, but deep down inside I couldn’t help but to think what was to come. When I met Alicia she didn’t own a pair of tennis shoes and wouldn’t be caught dead without makeup. I always encouraged her to embrace her natural beauty, relax and enjoy life. Her doing the big chop was a huge step. Before cutting her hair she made several changes and removed many masks that covered her insecurities. My theory is that cutting her hair represented the final mask.
I knew she had either done something that would change her life forever or something she would regret and run to the nearest wig store. During the upcoming months she went through a roller coaster of emotions but as her confidence and strength grew so did her hair. I love my wife unconditionally but seeing her grow to love every aspect of herself made me love her even more.
