My hair

I have decided not to use any chemicals or rather, relaxers on my hair for a while.  I am afraid of using a relaxer because of hair damage.  I want my hair to "rest".  I have been relaxing my hair for decades and now it has bitten me on the butt.  I made some hair mistakes and now I am repairing the damage done to my hair.  It is growing back and that makes me smile. 

My hair is definitely my crown and glory.  Sadly I have taken what I have for granted.  Hair that is short or long is beautiful.  Bald is just as beautiful, but I know that I would not look good bald.  I just feel that I have to be patient with my hair.  I wish that it would grow as fast and long as my nails did.  I just believe that hair growth takes time and a lot of maintenance.  I wonder how much more maintenance it would take for my hair to grow.

Sadly, I am not the most patient person in the world.  However, I am getting there.  I have grown more patient in recent years than at any time in my life.  I guess I am stressing myself out too much about my hair.  My hair fell out in clumps as I was washing it and I had to cut it.  It is a mullet style that I had to get used to.  And now, that I have gotten used to it, I am taking care of it and my hair is growing.  It isn't growing by leaps and bounds yet since it has only been a few weeks but it is growing.  There are no balding spots but there is uneven hair and I fear that there still are spots that were caused by damage.

Anyways, I wonder what it will be like for my hair to no longer be relaxed for a while.  The question remains, how long should I let my hair be natural?  How would my hair fare with the transitioning stage?  I would like to braid my hair someday soon, but right now my hair is too short for that.