Haircut Hysteria

Three years ago I decided, after growing my hair out, to then chop it off for wigs for kids. It was something I’d been meaning to do for years but I had trouble letting go of my long locks. Turns out I was not the only one. Mr. Man and Big Cat (at the time 5 and 3) were livid when I told them I was cutting it short. I broke the news to them and was met with scowls and scorn for what seemed an infinite car ride home. Mr. Man’s first query was, “What will we hold onto when you’re holding us?” referring to my ponytail. Big Cat was just plain annoyed, crossing his arms and asking, “Why?” I was familiar with these particular kinds of reactions to altering my appearance. My folks, especially my dad, had never wanted me to cut my hair above shoulder length, they liked me the way I was. Don’t rock the boat!
I assured them that it was important to give my hair to children who could not grow their own because they were sick, and that my hair would most definitely grow back. And so I went to Corpus Christi for the weekend and chopped 14 inches off. I couldn’t have been happier, and felt like I’d save a truckload of money on shampoo alone! That Monday I went to pick them up from school. I picked Big Cat up an hour before Mr. Man. My mama was visiting me and was in the passenger seat and we both started cracking up when Big Cat looked at me intently, furrowed brow, then broke into an expression of relief and said, “Oh, it’s the same color and everything! That’s ok!” I think he thought I would be transformed, that I would be unrecognizable to him. It made me realize that children find comfort in consistency, and I was glad I had warned them of the change and we’d talked it out. Later when we picked up Mr. Man, he didn’t notice at first until I turned around in my seat, “Oh that’s ok. It’ll grow back.”

Miss Cheryl, minus 14″