Gloria and I wore pigtails to school, at least two or three years. Having our hair rebraided was a ritual every day before the school bus stopped for us at the end of our rural driveway.
We climbed up on the red stepstool for the ordeal, the same red stepstool where Mom once gave Dad an accidental reverse Mohawk haircut. Braiding anything is soothing to the braider, but not especially to the girl whose short hairs at the nape of her neck cause tears.
What’s the story about the ornery boy sitting behind a pigtailed girl and dipped the end of her hair in his bottle of ink? Before my time anyway. But Grandpa Neal liked to tug on the end of a braid and tease about who my boyfriend was!
We graduated to ponytails for a few years, then Mom finally let me get my hair cut. I suppose those neat braids and ponytails felt too childlike.
Did any of you ever wear braids or ponytails?
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I’d forgotten about braids until recently reading the compelling book, The Five Wishes of Mr. Murray McBride by Joe Siple. A wonderfully encouraging tale of an unlikely friendship between the very elderly and widowed Mr. Murray McBride and Jason Cashman, a 10-year-old boy with a terminal illness. And the winsome Tiegan, a girl with braids who is “mature beyond her years,” as one reviewer noted, “loyal, smart, and almost a guardian angel.”
I never wore braids but certainly recall pony tails. I used to braid my daughters hair in tiny braids all over when her hair was wet. Then took them out a few hours later and it looked like she had a perm. You and your sister look so cute.
I never thought about braiding when wet! Thank you, Darlene.
Your braids were adorable, Joy! Such a pretty little girl! I am still known to braid my hair occasionally on a hot day to keep it off my face and neck. With no air conditioning and another heat dome coming, I will probably be baiding it again soon!
No air conditioning? I don’t take it for granted anymore. Thank you, Lori!
I agree with Lori! You couldn’t be more adorable, Joy. Both you and Gloria. Thanks for this sweet post and an introduction to another terrific book….always grateful to you! 💝😊💝
Bless you, Vicki!
Love you, Joy! ❤️
Love you back, and Mom would have loved you too!
You know what? That’s the sweetest thing to say. I count you as my “found family”, dear Joy. Thank you for being you. I know I’ve missed a post or two from you this week…one that mentioned the Machine Shed? I need to get reading and catch up. xo! 💝💝💝
Machine Shed! Favorite Guy had an ultrasound yesterday, so we celebrated with brunch at the Machine Shed. Oh, the aroma outside, and the lilies in full bloom, a couple of vintage tractors, then the redwing blackbirds were singing! They seated us clear in the back, by the chicken coop (flowers there too, rose moss planted in the red flyer wagon) our waitress was Kris, a favorite. (They also offer my new book in the gift section, a bonus!)
I love ANY mention of that place! So glad you two had a great time – good food, friendly folks — plus a bit of Joy for sale?!? Perfection! Give Guy a big hug! ❤️😘❤️
Will do. Thanks, Vicki!
❤️😊❤️
I remember the girl next door wore braids. I was never even tempted to pull them or dunk them. She would have knocked my block off.
Aha!
I wanted braids when I was little, but my mother kept my hair short (with good reason). Once I got to high school, I grew my hair long enough for braids.
But then you were too old for them?
Nope. They fit in well with my hippie persona.
Wow!
😉
I may have attempted it, but my fine hair simply couldn’t hold a band. They just fall out! It doesn’t grow very long, either.
Aha.
You and your sister look cute in braids! I believe I wore braids through the fourth grade, so I had the same morning ritual! 🙂
Thanks, Nancy? Did you get your hair cut then, or switch to a ponytail?
I got it cut. I still have one of my braids! 😁
I’ve got a braid as well! But it’s in a frame with lots of other keepsakes and didn’t photo well. An “hairloom” for our kids?
Haha! I’m sure they’ll fight for it! 🤣
Love it!
The braided hair is very attractive, Joy! 😍
Thanks, Tim. Neat anyway. One year Mom allowed Gloria to wear her hair down for school pictures, but recess was before those pictures and her hair looked pretty wild!
😍
My hair was too fine for braiding, but I did have a pony tail around the fifth grade. My mother was an expert braider. She had very long hair which she braided every morning and wore in a bun on the back of her head. Her fingers just flew! I think she could have braider hair in her sleep. Thanks for triggering a sweet memory, Joy!
Thank you, Janet. And you just triggered a memory about Dad’s mother, my Grandma Neal. She wore her long hair coiled on top toward the back of her head, but I think it was braided first. She didn’t have it cut until going to the retirement home since short was easier to take care of.
I love this post. I didn’t usually wear braids, although sometimes I did. My mother wore braids that were pinned on top of her head. Makes her look a bit European to me in the photos I used to look at at my grandmother’s house. I am not sure if I ended up with any of those pix. But when I was a kid the YWCA had Camp Ponytail and Camp Pigtalia. The pigtalia one was for the little girls who then graduated into the ponytail camp :). I always had hair in elementary too short for pigtails, I think.
Camp Ponytail and Camp Pigtalia! I love it, Luanne. Thanks for adding your memories.
Sent me over to Vanished Kalamazoo to see if anybody else remembered them! Thanks, Joy!
Just adorable!
Thanks, Linda! Mom would love your comment!