Normal.

My aunt, who lives in Dominican Republic, was diagnosed with cancer in November. I found out about it the day I finished my last chemo treatment, which was bad since I was already experiencing a bittersweet moment knowing that it would be my last time there but so many were just starting and would never finish, etc.

Unlike my specific cancer, hers has no cure. Still her oncologist suggested chemo so that she could try everything. She’s a vain person, my aunt, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. I don’t think vanity is a bad quality to have, but it’s a tough one to deal with when you’re diagnosed with a disease that takes so much from you. My mom mentioned recently that she wanted a wig to wear when her hair began to fall out, so today we went to see the guy who sold me my wig. His name is Steve Berman, and the guy is pretty well known for his wigs and what he’s done for women with cancer.

The first thing I told him when I saw him was that even though I didn’t end up using my wig often, the times I did put it on to go out made me feel like I was just a “regular person.” He laughed and stated the obvious, “You are.” And I responded, “That’s not what you feel like when you’re walking around with no hair on your head, even if you have it covered. People look at you and see your cancer, it’s kind of annoying.” We talked some more and he told me I needed a haircut because I still had chemo hair. This surprised me since I thought all of my “chemo hair” had fallen out as soon as it grew back. Apparently all that soft hair, or as he called it, “cotton candy hair” was still chemo hair! Anyway, after we settled on a wig for my aunt, he sat me down, covered me with a cape and started to cut my hair as he recited poems he’d written.

He didn’t charge me for this service. He did it out of the goodness of his heart, because he “liked my smile and good spirit.” It wasn’t until later on, while I was driving in silence, that I started to feel overwhelmed by his kindness. Sometimes people do things that don’t seem like such a big deal, but to the person on the receiving end of the deed, it feels like for once everything is right in the world. This was one of those for me :).