Because of Leah’s enthusiasm and commitment to raise money for cancer research, this wonderful organization graciously allowed her to join them as an honorary member. She was fifteen when Isa was born, so she spent a great amount of time being a second mommy to her little sister. Now, Leah is not a mom of a cancer survivor, but she’s close to being one. These extraordinary women came to Hollywood from all over the United States and Canada to tell their personal stories of survival and loss. They call themselves 46 Mommas because each weekday, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States-that’s two full classrooms of children! All of these moms have had a child diagnosed with cancer, and some of them have even lost their children to this insidious disease. Baldrick’s, a foundation that funds pediatric cancer research. She recently joined 46 Mommas Shave for the Brave, a group of moms who shave their heads publicly to raise money for St. Yet, despite my lack of enthusiasm, our entire family traveled down to Los Angeles last Sunday to watch Leah shave her head in front of hundreds of people at a mall in the center of Hollywood. I’m embarrassed to say that I tried unsuccessfully to talk her out of it. At first, all I could think of was how funny she would look, and secondly, what would people think, and finally, how much I would miss her long, thick hair.

You’d think that as her mom, I would have been more supportive of her decision to shave her head, especially after I found out why she wanted to do it, but I’m stubborn sometimes and it takes me a while to see the big picture. Truthfully, the thought of seeing another child of mine with a bald head was just too much for me to face. The look on her face made me want to suck those awful words right back into my mouth, but I just couldn’t bear the thought of her shaving off her beautiful chocolate brown hair that framed her lovely face and fell like silk across her shoulders. “No one will take you seriously if you cut off your hair, Leah!” I yelled at her, “You just want to do it for the attention you’ll get!” I told her she was being impulsive and that she would look ridiculous. When she first told me she was considering doing it, I reacted in my usual jump-to-conclusions-quick-to-disapprove mode and spoke before I took the time to think. My twenty-one year old daughter just shaved her head.

46 mommas shave for the brave 2012