The Sometimes Annual Haircut

For the most part, it doesn’t matter to me whether my son has long hair or short hair.  Really, it’s his head, and he has some pretty strong opinions about how he likes his hair.  Actually, I love that he’s confident enough to just ignore all the times people mistake him for a girl.  He tells people who suggest a haircut that he likes it the way it is.  I love how his long hair curls into a mop all summer long. In fact, even when his hair is shorter, it is still moppy, and I think that suits him just fine.

Recently I bought the children’s picture book about a monster who has his own ideas about not getting a haircut, because long hair is more scary than short hair.  In the book, eventually his hair gets so long and has so much stuff stuck in it that it’s funny, not scary, which prompts him to cut his hair at last (to the vast relief of his dad).  When the hair is cut, the monster feels a bit self conscious, but it turns out his hair is even more scary when it’s medium short, and his friends love him anyway.  It reminded me SO much of Mr. Sneaky Pants, and we’ve been enjoying fun book a lot.

In the winter Mr. SP’s long hair gets harder to manage because it’s not as curly.  It gets into his face more.  It looks more scraggly.  I suspected it was becoming a bit of a pain.  Every once in a while I remind him that it’s OK to have short or long hair, and he always has the option of cutting it if he wants. After all, taking care of shorter hair IS easier than taking care of longer hair, and Mr. SP is not really a fan of brushing his hair or washing his hair.   Usually this is met with a yelp and a sentiment of absolutely NOT.

But last Friday I mentioned a haircut, and he didn’t really protest.  I suggested a little trim, just to make things a bit easier.  He said OK.  We immediately went to the bathroom and got out the haircut scissors.  I really did intend just to do a small trim, but you all know I am not a professional stylist, and I couldn’t figure out how to do a smaller trim without really, really making his hair look girlish, so I ended up going back to my standard Mr. SP haircut.  When it was all said and done he noticed that it wasn’t a small trim.  I braced for a tantrum.

Instead, though, he really just chastised me with a twinkle in his eye and a little smirk, and I knew that the truth was that he really didn’t mind.  Furthormore, he might be relishing the ability to see clearly and not through a curtain of hair for the first time in months.

He didn’t react well to the giggles of his sisters, but overall, there hasn’t been too much complaining about the new look.  I promised I wouldn’t make any attempts to cut it again for another year.  After all, the last haircut was also a year ago in November.  He did express some dismay at the thought of  his Grandma Robbie thinking she’d won and he took her advice and cut his hair.  So, if you see him around, just don’t MENTION the hair, please, and we’ll all be able to enjoy actually seeing his cute and adorable face for a few dry, winter months when his hair doesn’t curl up.

The truth is, I always miss those long and bouncy summer locks.