8 Comments
Oct 19Liked by Emily F. Popek

This is beautiful and I can relate. I have hair clippings from my daughter’s first haircuts and teeth as well. I also cut off hair from my beloved dog when he passed. Why do we gather and keep these things? I’m not sure but I am comforted by them.

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Thank you! I have a clipping from my daughter's first haircut somewhere, too. I was just telling her that story. Hair has a sweetness to it, but it's also grotesque, somehow

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Oct 19Liked by Emily F. Popek

Beautiful. And heartbreaking. I think you're brave to open all those boxes and bags.

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I can't not open them!!

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Oct 19Liked by Emily F. Popek

This is lovely, and resonates with me too. We have a framed lock of our son's hair from his first haircut. My grandma wore braids on top of her head, and I wish we had saved them when they were cut in her old age.

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I love the idea of framing a lock of hair! I am also thinking now about Victorian mourning jewelry that incorporated hair into it ...

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What a lovely essay Emily. I recently found an envelope of my mother's hair from when she was baby. She died over a decade ago and I immediately thought there is no way I can get rid of this. Not sure what to do with it but there is something very important about it.

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It does feel important! It's so alive, somehow.

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