Maren's New Haircut

Caring for Maren's hair was becoming more and more of an ordeal. For a few days, the before-school routine included Maren running away from me with her hands over her head, screaming, "I don't want you to brush my hair!" On the third day, I suggested that one option could be to get a very short haircut. She was really enthusiastic about that idea—I had to talk her into thinking about it for a few days! When I checked in with her, the decision was both confident and final.

When it came down to it, though, she really didn't want a stranger doing the honours. At all. She insisted that I do it. Hmmmm... interesting. I explained that I might make mistakes because I really don't know how to do a nice short haircut for girls, but her decision was, well, both confident and final.

So, here it is! The second version, anyway. (I did a preliminary cut, observed the interaction of the haircut with the subject and the environment, and completed the project two days later.) I'm not convinced she doesn't look a little boyish—an opinion shared by at least two strangers—but she is thrilled with the new coiffure. (Especially since two of her grown-up friends told her she looks like a punk rock star!)

And that was the point, really. She's in kindergarten. In the big picture, I think it's more important for her to feel in control of her appearance and be spared the obvious anxiety of the hairdresser's chair than to have a stunning hairstyle. Although I suspect she may later accuse me of bad parenting!

(As you can see, she has been blessed with my cowlicks... two right in the middle that go in opposite directions.)