I have very long, very straight hair. Close friends and family know that it’s also very painful for me to consider cutting my hair. I’m thankful to have donated my hair to charity a couple of times, but even on those visits I ensured that the stylist kept to the absolute minimum to enable the donation.

I did get a cut earlier this summer (oh wait, I was supposed to preface all of this with, “don’t judge me.”) when people started calling me Rapunzel. It had been a year (or so-ish) since I last let scissors touch my locks. A reminder: don’t judge me.

Anyway, I was running behind Monday morning and couldn’t curl my hair. I usually try to put some curls in it to give it a little boost because my hair? Is very straight. Instead, I took my brush and found some hair just left of my normal center part. Long. Straight. Center. Trendsetter much? In a burst of courage, I took that hair and pulled it over and behind my ear. Voila. I had a side part.

I really thought nothing of it. To be honest, I don’t spend a lot of time looking in the mirror. It’s just … better that way. Anyway, I got to work and a friend commented that she liked it (I also learned in that conversation she didn’t know i typically curl my hair. The horror!).

I did it again Tuesday.

Then, I did it again today. And I curled. And it was like the floodgates of compliments opened. Several co-workers mentioned they liked it. I think one may have even said I looked pretty. Or maybe they said silly and I wanted to hear pretty … regardless, I really appreciated the positive feedback. When you really only live with a six year old, the “you look pretty” comments don’t abound. Actually, if I throw on workout clothes, Connor tells me I look hot. *sigh*

The truth is, the whole side part story is just really a ploy for me to ask that you make the effort to say something kind to someone tomorrow. I almost literally tear up every time I look at my news feed on Facebook or when I watch the news because of the junk that’s happening. Today, I read that a dear friend almost lost someone to a suicide attempt. It makes me so sad. But what if we all just spent a little bit more time encouraging each other? I think it would help; I really do.

I know that I spend a lot of time making sarcastic comments. It’s how I roll. But I also try to make sure people know I care about them. Because I do. I care so much that it hurts sometimes. And that’s the God’s honest truth. So, again, I’m asking you to do the same. Just say something nice. Help a friend. Hug someone. Encourage someone just to keep going. Because the fact that you took a moment to care may just save that person’s life. You never know. But, what I do know is that I’ll likely be parting my hair to the side more often.