Scarlet Fever!

By: Guest Writer, Erica McCann

My husband is sick with “Scarlet Fever.” He loves redheads!

It was evident from an early age that my husband showed the symptoms of Scarlet Fever. His first kiss was a little red haired girl back in the 4th grade. His best friend since the 6th grade, Sean (who was also the best man in our wedding!), is a bright orange redhead. Then, in the 8th grade he met me, an auburn haired girl, who would 10-years-later become his wife. My best friend in high school was an insanely talented and gorgeous redhead named Sarah, and we created a little crimson party every time we hung out with my husband and Sean (we were the only 3 redheads in our grade and my husband “collected” every one of us!).

Then we moved to college. Instantly he befriended a guy on my floor named Ryan – also a redhead. They became best buds in college and hung out all of the time, even deciding to be roommates the following year. That next year, Ryan’s best friend from home, Ben, decided he wanted to transfer to our school. Instead of being worried that his new roommate might prefer hanging out with his friend from home more than him, he was elated to find out that Ben too was a redhead! The following year, they all moved in together.

Needless to say, my husband has always found a way to surround himself with redheads – which seems a difficult task when we only represent 2% of the population! So when it came time to choose our bridal party for our wedding (including myself, Sarah, Sean, Ryan, and Ben), we quickly realized that HALF of the wedding party was copper topped! How wonderful (look at the great photos above)! 

The redheads in our lives have always been strong, proud people – we drew on each other’s confidence in our hair color and fought off any negative comments from outsiders with a laugh. We say, “They wish they could be as cool as us!”

So if there are any other redheads out there, especially young ones, who feel the awful effects of bullying, know that you can find peace and new found confidence in your redheaded friends. After all, that’s what friends are for – no matter their hair color.