Hair cuts

For months Beth has deliberated about getting a haircut. Initially she was intimidated by the whole process of going to the salon. Then she decided she wanted long hair so she could do more braids and curls and such. Last week, after a discussion with me about the possibility of bangs, she made her decision and was raring to go! After school we headed over to Fantastic Sam's for her little "make-over." 

Before 

Beth was proud of her long hair, but she was getting tired of combing out tangles and decided it was time for a change. 

During - she groaned and rolled her eyes in mock embarrassment while her mother took pictures. She discouraged me from speaking to her during her haircut as well. A haircut is much too grown-up for that kind of thing. 

After

Beth LOVES her haircut. At the salon she was grinning and giggling at herself in the mirror. When she got down from the chair the first thing she said was, "My dad will be so proud of me!" The puzzled stylist queried, "Does your dad really like bangs?", "No, I explained, "he really likes Beth!" 

When we got home Beth disappeared for the better part of a half an hour. When I finally went to look for her I found her in gazing in the mirror. She agreed to pose for a "photo shoot" and anxiously waited for her dad to come home. She fell apart when he called and said he would be late, and then she slept with a pillow over her head so that when he came in to kiss her while she slept, he wouldn't see her haircut! The next morning she made me hurriedly comb and curl her hair before Luke came upstairs and then she popped out and surprised him. Writing about it may make her sound a bit conceited, but in actuality she was very sweet and cute about the whole thing. 

Now for Mary. As a baby Mary developed an interesting habit of twisting her hair in knots to lull herself to sleep. When her hair was little more than an infant fuzz, we had to cut the knots out each morning, which perpetuated her baby baldness for months. As her hair miraculously managed to grow, we managed on occasion to untangle the knots and spare her hair it's daily trimming. However, just as her hair had nearly filled out to a legitimate head full, she took up the scissors by her own volition and whacked off her bangs back to the scalp. Throughout all of this, she didn't like having short hair and once quietly moaned as we sat in church, "I have a BOY head!" Trying to reconcile not tying knots or cutting her own hair with growing hair long enough to have a "girl head" was a heart-felt conflict for little Mary. Now, her hair is long enough that she can twist knots into it and "tie them out" by herself, most of the time. But, her hair is curly and she likes it "smooth" so the daily trimming has evolved to a daily battle where I try to persuade, cajole, and trick her into showing off her cute curls while she heartily insists that I slick it down as smooth and straight as possible. So, as we took Beth to the salon for her haircut, I offered Mary a trim. She confessed that she was scared of "the black thing." "The cape?" I asked, "That is just a great big apron that they put over you so that your clothes are covered up and the cut-off hair doesn't get on them and make you itch." "Ooooooh," she sighed, "I thought it was a cave with a black bear inside, and then I saw a Beth-head poking out of it!" No wonder she didn't want a hair cut! With fear of caves and bears resolved, she eagerly climbed up into the chair while I explained the knot situation to the stylist. . .

Before

Mary was prone to "crazy hair" in the mornings.

During

She was less concerned with the outcome and more concerned with equality as she proudly announced, "Now Beth AND me got to go in the chair!" Cutting some layers evened out the areas where knots had been extracted . . .

After

The stylist sprayed Mary's hair and used mousse to activate the curls. Mary scowled sullenly into the mirror and refused to speak to her. When we got home and the curls loosened up a bit, Mary relaxed too and let me take her picture. 

I never though taking kids for a hair cut could be so much fun! Between the two of them their reactions had me laughing all day. I'm sure there are bad hair days ahead and lots of drama to go with them, but for this mother of three girls, today was a great hair day!