I was on the phone with my sister-in-law yesterday when my three-year-old daughter Sophie came up to me and said, "Don't I look beautiful, Mommy?"
"Of course you do, Sweetheart!" I said quickly, not noticing her most recent handiwork.
"I cut my bangs without cutting my forehead!" she exclaimed proudly. I followed her into the living-room where her big sister was making a craft. There on the table, lay a few rather long locks of Sophie's hair, and a pair of kid's scissors.
"Now her bangs won't get in her eyes," her big sister said helpfully. I could hear my sister-in-law giggling on the phone, so I told her that it was all her fault, then hung up to investigate the damage.
The bangs were a mess, but Sophie was jubilant. In her eyes, she had accomplished something monumental. She's been really interested in making crafts lately, and her scissor skills have improved tremendously in the past few weeks. Tackling a new medium, like hair, without causing injury to herself was indeed praiseworthy.
I'm rather proud of my reaction. Instead of unleashing a horrified, "What have you done to your hair???"... I focused on the safety aspect of the trim. I told Sophie that I was impressed with her new haircut, but that it had been very dangerous to have the scissors so close to her eyes and she was NEVER to do it again.
It was time to get ready for dance class, so I decided to drop the issue, but not before asking five-year-old Stella the following question, "Stella, do you remember me ever saying to you girls that you were never, ever to use the scissors for cutting your hair?"
"Well Mama," she began thoughtfully, "I remember you saying that we should never cut our dolls hair, but that's it."
Nice.
DAY 2:
This morning, it was time to document the new bangs. I pulled out my camera while Sophie and Stella were having breakfast at their little table. I asked Sophie what my face looked like when I first saw her new haircut.
First she did this:
Then she did this:
Oops. And I thought I'd masked my true feelings.
Then I asked Sophie how she felt about her new bangs and she said, 'Ta da!'
After our little photo shoot, I realized that Sophie's bangs were really growing on me. (No pun intended.) Not just because they make me smile, it has more to do with 'chutzpah.' I mean, I wish I had the confidence to pick up the scissors, butcher my hair, then throw my arms in the air and say, 'Ta da! Don't I look beautiful?'
Nevertheless, I told the girls that I would call our favourite hair salon, Indigo Lounge, tomorrow to make an appointment for Sophie. Sophie was a bit apprehensive, so I told her that the stylist, Heather, was as lovely and sweet as Snow White, (which she is,) and Elton's dog Cassius, who was a very gentle beast, might be there. By the time I kissed Sophie goodnight, she was excited about seeing Princess Heather at Indigo. "I wonder if she'll have a crown," she sighed.
When I tucked Stella into bed, I decided to ask her a few questions about the incident, "Stella, did you actually see Sophie cut her bangs?"
"Uh..."
"Be completely honest, please."
"Yes, and I tried to say, 'Sophie, you shouldn't cut your own bangs,' but she said, 'but I'm going to make them look beautifuler,' so ..."
"Did you know that it was dangerous for her to have the scissors up close to her eyes?" I asked.
"Ya, but I'd never seen her do anything like that before and I didn't know what to do."
"Stella," I said, "I completely understand and I would have felt the same way if I were you."
She gave me a great big hug at that point. "Stel, if I can get an appointment for you, would you like to get your haircut too?"
"Okay. Would I get to meet Cassius?"
"Maybe. I'm not sure if Elton and Heather always take their dog to the salon, but we'll see."
"Does Cassius have bangs?"
"Oh, you're funny."
"Did he cut his own tail?"
My little comedian.
