Experimentation

Well folks, it has happened... The day that some of us can remember from our own childhoods or the day that some of us have experienced through our own children... The day that a child decides he or she will cut hair with scissors. Brooklynn gave herself a hair cut last night.

We did our nightly routine and tucked her in with her music on and light dimmed. About an hour later I got up and went in her room, like I do every night, to tuck her back in. She usually falls asleep on top of books or toys that she collects after we tuck her in the first time. Last night I opened the door and she was still awake. After I did the usual, "Why are you still awake?... You need to be asleep right now.... You have school in the morning...," routine, she asked me to take out her braids because she said they were uncomfortable to sleep on. I had put two french braids in her hair earlier yesterday. I started to unravel the braids and clumps of hair came out in my hands...

Brooklynn's bedroom is dim and I'm standing there with clumps of my child's hair in my hands and starting to silently freak out. I didn't want to scare her but I was wondering if maybe I braided it too tight or I pulled too hard in taking the braids out or maybe I wasn't feeding her enough vitamins...(seriously, these are all the things that went through my mind in about a ten second period of time). Then she says, "I cut my hair, Mama!" I turned on the overhead light and sure enough, there on her nightstand were her scissors. Phew! Atleast I don't have to worry about the vitamins and minerals thing. Now, all I have to worry about is my child looking like she has a mullet. I'm not sure which is worse.

I told her she now has a whole new beautiful look and that next time she wants a hair cut she needs to tell one of us adults. I then took her cut off hair into Eric and, half laughing, half crying, explained to him that we now have a hipster child with a very weird hairdo.


*Sidenote: Don't put your judgey pants on and ask me why she had access to scissors! For the record: she has kid's scissors! The kind that are in every kindergarten classroom! How the heck they are sharp enough to cut hair is beyond me.

Eric says he remembers himself as a child taking scissors and cutting a line straight down the middle of his head. I remember hiding behind the couch and making "boy" Barbies and My-Little-Ponies. So this will be Brooklynn's story... Hopefully the only story she has about cutting hair unless she becomes a stylist someday.