A Hair Story

I have stick-straight, fine, red hair. Not fine like "she looked FI-INE", but fine as in somewhat fly-away and thin. No need for a flat iron since what is straighter than well, straight.
*Tangent alert* I do love my hair color and always get asked if it's natural. (Actually now that I think about it may not be a compliment but who cares.) Red hair runs in my family and both my mother and grandmother have red hair.
When I was younger my loving mother decided that my face was too round for straight hair. It was the era of big hair=better hair and so the home perms started at the tender age of 8. My aunt would come over and we would all do our (cheap I'm sure) perms stinking up the house and looking awesome. I always liked it but looking back I realize there are some problems with giving children home perms. Perms are tricky bastards and require a lot of maintenance and up keep. My "beauty" regamine was shower at night, get up in the morning, put in a big bow and run for the school bus. Needless to say I had many bad hair days, months, years..... Please don't get all crazy on my mom since she was trying to help and NEVER forced me into a perm. In fact I had several friends in middle school who cried for days because their mom's wouldn't let them chemically kill their hair. Looking back at pictures I realize the hair was a mistake. (For about 5 years all pictures of me featured frizzy permed hair, scary glasses and 80's clothes-not pretty.)
My freshman year of high school I FINALLY wised up begged for contacts and grew out my perm. It actually didn't look too bad and by senior year I had long straight pretty hair. I started getting up earlier to wash, blow dry and style my hair. But my hair, tortured by years of chemicals and non-attention, decided that straight was it, FOR-EV-ER. I could not curl or even wave my hair to save my life. I tried everything to gelling it before I curled it, hot rollers, sleeping in foam rollers...nothing. My hair would start curly and then realize, nooooo we hates the curl! In two hours or less I would be back to straight hair, stiff and gross from gel and hairspray.
Since I was a super rebel I followed the trends and got a tattoo and a boy-short haircut my first month at college. My mom literally burst into tears the first time she saw it. I got 9 inches cut off in one swoop. I loved it! I eventually started growing it out (I never admitted it to my mom but my face really was too round for short hair). It grew back thicker and healthier than I had ever seen it. I wore it long at my wedding (shoulder-length) and then went for the inverted bob for my first job "business" look. A couple years ago I started growing it long again. Many years of nicer shampoos, deep conditioners and better blow driers I think my hair has finally forgiven me.
Now that I go to the gym 5 days a week I come home somewhat gross many nights but my dry fine hair does not allow every day washings. Last week I decided to shower at night and didn't feel like drying it. (Aaahhh laziness). I had read in a magazine that if you did your wet hair in loose braids in the morning it would be pretty and wavy.

Now I'll pause while everyone in the world laughs and shakes their head at my foolishness.

Of course I woke up with hair that looked like I had used my Vidaal Sasson 1987 pink crimping iron on it. Scary and big. I considered just going with it and acting like "What? I totally styled my hair like this." but decided I couldn't pull it off. So I dusted off the old curling iron. Twenty minutes (plus 10 minutes of cursing after burning the shit out of my neck, ear, hand, etc.) I had waves. I misted on some light hair spray and ran for the door. My hair actually held all day! I couldn't believe it! (And one of my co-workers who I see every day did not recognize me-What? I felt like Clark Kent/Superman. You look like Celia but she doesn't have wavy hair, who could this stranger be?) I decided to try this experiment again today and so far still wavy. I was a little rushed so one part looks a little sketch but still.
Thanks to the hair gods for a second chance. I feel like I should sacrifice something in thanks for this wonderous miracle. Any suggestions?