Turning Lemons into Lemonade

Things are not Always as Bad as They Seem

Photo by Charity Beth Long on Unsplash

While the thought of eating a lemon all by itself may not appeal to many, adding water and a little sugar and turning it into lemonade has proven to be a crowd favorite. The sour fruit is high in acid and the term, “sucking on a lemon” refers to someone who is angry or grimacing. Too much lemon juice on teeth, the enamel can erode. However, when used properly and in moderation, lemons can boost Vitamin C and add flavor to food and drinks. Drinking lemon water can hydrate our bodies. Depending on how we use them, lemons can turn out to be beneficial.

When you’re raising a child with disabilities, almost every day can present a new challenge or the unexpected. The unexpected comes to be expected. Sometimes, situations come out of nowhere and we just don’t feel equipped to handle them. At times, you may find yourself asking out loud, “What do I do now?” Or, as I find myself doing, look up toward Heaven and ask God, “Do you see this?”

Several years ago, while talking on the phone with a friend, I was busy doing Kendra’s hair. I decided to style it into two-strand twist braids. To make the style last longer, I put small rubber bands at the scalp. She didn’t seem to appreciate the bands, as she kept reaching up and touching each twist that I completed. Kendra doesn’t use words to communicate but she makes sounds and hums. As you get to know her, you recognize her happy sounds and her not so happy sounds. While I was talking on the phone and doing her hair, I don’t recall listening closely to her as she was “speaking” to me. I remember cutting some of the bands and replacing them, to make sure they were not on too tight. Kendra sat patiently for the three hours it took to complete her hair and seemed pleased with the results. After that, I tucked her into bed, as she had school the next day.

The next morning, I sprang out of bed early to help Kendra get ready to catch her bus to school. The bus arrived at our house earlier than chickens get up, at a quarter to six. On that morning, as I opened her bedroom door to greet her, she was sitting up in bed, smiling, making happy sounds and was busy undoing her hair. To my surprise, she managed to sneak the scissors I used the night before and had cut every rubber band from her hair. She also cut every twist off her head! Next to her bed was a neatly stacked pile of braids, still twisted with the rubber bands on them. There was a growing pile of loose hair on the floor, as she continued cutting her hair into a short, afro style. Where twists had been, she was feeling with her fingers and trimming the humps of hair even. She loves things to be even.

It’s not my nature to panic and I’m usually relatively calm. I went into overdrive! “Kendra, what are you doing? Look at your hair !!” Meanwhile, she continued to cut away and smile, making happy sounds. All that thick, beautiful hair was gone! She seemed to have no close connection to it, as it lay beside her on the floor. In other words, her hair didn’t define her. I closed the door behind me so that she wouldn’t see me crying, as I frantically rang my sister’s phone. As soon as she picked up, I cried into the phone, “I can’t send Kendra to school today. She’s cut all of her hair off.” My sister became the voice of reason. “With all that hair she had, she can donate it to Locks for Love.” What an epiphany.

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” —Willie Nelson

Since she had left her locs in the rubber band, all we had to do was wash, dry, and pack her hair into a large envelope and mail it off to Locks for Love. I could vision the little black girl who would no longer have to be bald but would be able to choose a hairstyle of her choice. The nonprofit organization provides custom-made hair pieces for children up to age 21 who have suffered hair loss due to medical conditions such as cancer, alopecia, and burn trauma. Kendra had such a thick head of hair; I envisioned not just one, but two young girls who could once again wear the styles they were used to before they lost their hair. I was so proud of Kendra for the contribution she made, and she looked gorgeous wearing a teeny-weeny afro.

Miss Unstoppable

Wow, now that’s what I call turning lemons into lemonade.