Hair cuts!

A couple weeks ago, Andrew and Sylvia turned a quiet afternoon into a self-hair cutting extravaganza.

It was after school on a wet day, and Andrew and Sylvia wanted to watch a show.  I had some photography phone calls to make, so I agreed.  They also wanted to do some art projects, so I helped them get paper and crayons and paper.  And then I sat down at the kitchen table to work and make calls.

Andrew came in a couple times to get snacks.

And then I didn’t see them for a while.

The quiet had a funny sound to it, so I went into the living room to check on them.

And then I screamed.

I slapped my hands to either side of my face as if I was trying to hold my head together.

Lying on the floor was about four cups of Andrew’s curls.  And both Andrew and Sylvia had their scissors up to their heads and were looking at me wide-eyed in mid-cut.

Sylvia dropped her scissors from her trimming and clapped her hands over her ears.

I kept my hands holding my head together as I surveyed the scene, muttering something like, “Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, whatwereyouTHINKING???  OK OK OK OK Ok ok ok ok WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?!?”

Sylvia is looking at me with shock and alarm, and Andrew is looking at me, with his very shorn head, with confidence and righteousness.  No contriteness there.

I considered making him go around for a few days with the haircut he gave himself, but knowing him, he would think that was great.  And even if the kids at school thought he looked funny, he probably wouldn’t care.  And then perhaps I’d be stuck with him wearing this ridiculous mullet-type cut.  So I sadly sat him down and finished the job.

Here he is a few days later.

Really, there’s nothing wrong with his short cut.  It’s just a short boy cut.  But oh, his curls!  And the humanity of it all!

I told him that in the future if he wants his hair cut, HE NEEDS TO ASK FIRST.  I’m curious when and if we’ll see his lovely curls again.

Sylvia’s cut was less dramatic, so for the first day or so afterward, I didn’t even really notice it.  But then I realized that all her curls on the right side of her head had been lopped off.  She didn’t shear it off close to the scalp (thank heavens), but she’s got a whole area of her head with hair about an inch long.

For a little pop-culture reference, Sylvia’s ‘do actually reminds me a little of Rhiana…

She’s oh, so trendy!

Oh well.  It’s just hair and it grows back.  And now that the trauma is in the past, I’ve mostly recovered.

And the scissors?  They’ve been removed from circulation!