haircuts, memories and old horror!

Three of the kids got haircuts Friday and oh my do they look cute!

Kid1 just NEEDED a haircut and this was the first time he got a style instead of just a boy cut… it was so exciting for him. I won’t lie it made me a little sad to see his feet reach the ground in that barber chair. I remember a time when they were little and their feet hung so far above the floor as they peered at themselves in the mirror wondering what the stranger with scissors would do. As little kids they must have wondered why THEY couldn’t cut their hair but a complete stranger could and WHY is it now okay to talk to a stranger with scissors?

Kid2 wanted a shorter haircut and although I was a little nervous, she has a good sense of style and takes good care of her hair, plus she looks cute in any style. As she sat there I couldn’t help but to remember back to the day that she wanted her hair cut too, just like her brothers went every so often she also wanted a turn. I took them all to a local barber. Kid1 got a bowl cut, so did Kid3 and when it became Kid2’s turn she hopped up in that big ol’ barber chair with her long blonde hair so proud to get her hair cut too- JUST like her brothers. I said to the barber to just give her a little trim because she wanted to be JUST like the boys and have her hair cut too. I turned to tend to Kid3, he was very small and when I turned back the barber was giving her a bowl cut too “Just like the boys”. It was then I realized he didn’t speak good English and all he heard was “just like the boys”….. this is what I tell myself anyway. I don’t know what he was thinking. As her little long blonde hair fell to the floor and she watched in horror I realized that very quickly I was going to have to lose the shocked face and try to make the best of this disaster, after all it’s just hair RIGHT?!

When she was finished I swooped her out of the chair, spun her around and told her that I LOVED her “ice skater” haircut! I told her how much fun we would have that evening going out shopping for new barrettes and headbands; I smiled a very painful smile and pretended to love it. She was not sure she believed me. Even the boys were in shock… they were confused why I was thrilled with such a horrible mistake. I was trying to act as cool as a cucumber and realized I had better call her Daddy before he walked in the door because his face would be covered in obvious horror- sometimes Daddy’s don’t fake ‘thrilled’ as well as Mommies!

So we spent the next few months ooo-ing and awww-ing over her ice skater haircut and trying to support her and not make her feel bad, heading off strangers asking about my “boys” and friends pointing out the obvious. It was a rough few months and she still remembers it. Friday as she sat so still and her feet reached the floor, she looked so grown up telling Holly what kind of style she wanted I thought back to that day - it seemed like forever ago and it was.

When Kid4 got up into that chair with her little feet dangling over the hairy floor I found myself a little nervous, my mouth a little dry and my words fewer as I asked for a “bob”. Kid4 was dreaming of shorter hair and I was sad. As her beautiful brown curly hair fell to the floor on Friday I held her hand and wondered how quickly her life will pass before me and how soon will it be before her feet touched the floor.

Time flies, hair grows but the love and memories of a mother remain true and vivid throughout the years.