Apparently,  girls who like to play in hair never grow out of it.  My 74-year-old grandmother has been asking to press my hair for a few years now.  Tonight,  I finally gave in. 

For any black woman with naturalhair,  there is a fear of using too much heat while styling.  My apprehension was so real that I was natural for approximately three years before I ever blow dried my hair. I still don't put much heat in my hair now,  but something about the way she asked tonight made me comply.

I'm not going to lie,  I was nervous. I am always worried that when my hair is straightened,  it won't revert due to heat damage. But the more I thought about it,  I started to remember when I had a relaxer and kept my hair cut.  I'd try just about any style.  People loved using me as a guinea pig because I'd always say,  "It's just hair. It'll grow back." So,  for the sake of giving my grandmother that small piece of joy,  I told her to go ahead and put the comb on the stove.  I then sat in a chair and waited for the comb to heat.

As she approached my head with it,  all fear seemingly went away. In those few seconds,  I almost felt a sense of innocence,  like I was a little girl sitting on the floor with my head between her knees.  It made me happy just seeing the joy in my grandmother's eyes,  and I honestly don't know which one of us enjoyed the moment most.

I only let her press a small section,  but I vowed to come by at a later time and let her press all of my hair.  After all,  she's 74; and with the way the world is today,  we don't know how much time we have with our loved ones to make such memories.  I'm making the choice to put all fear aside for the sake of creating lasting moments like these.  Who cares if she messes it up?  It's just hair.  It'll grow back.

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