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Lindsay Metcalf
on May 22 2013 - 06:00 AM
When that tornado siren sounds, I'm in the basement
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mara williams
on May 21 2013 - 06:00 AM
Summer break has this mom on a house upkeep war path.
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Four days ago, as I watched the nice lady cut one inch off my son’s hair, maybe two, I could feel myself getting giddy. I mean I started smiling. Tapping my feet to the beat on TV. And the college basketball game was on. I was tapping my feet to the bouncing of a ball, I guess.
The best part was, I wasn’t the reason we were there. Now, sure, I’ve been secretly wanting him to cut off the way-too-long locks for weeks now. But a friend once told me to leave it alone. Don’t pick that fight. They’ll be many more. So I’ve bitten my lip and let it – meaning his hair – just hang. I started to actually like it. The old Bieber look.
Yet, the longer it got, I swear the more laid back he got. The whole skater vibe. And this is a laid-back kid anyway. But as the hair hit his collar and his bangs hung below his eyebrows, I promise you it was as if he stopped talking in sentences and just uttered, “yeah, man,” or “cool.” Our little surfer without the surf board. Think I’m crazy, but it’s true.
He was so laid back that assignments were missed. Tests bombed. Early morning band practices forgotten. Now, I’m sure this wasn’t about his hair. (Or was it???) But in my mind anyway, the longer his hair got, the more he seemed to not care about things. Or at least not focus on them.
So you can imagine how happy I was the day he says, out of the blue: “Can we go get my hair cut? I don’t really like it this long anymore.”
Cue the Amen.
I tried to act nonchalant. “Really, you want a haircut? But I thought you liked the look?”
“Not really,” he said. “It’s getting to look pretty shaggy.”
The last two times his hair got this long, and he went to his dad’s in St. Louis, oldest didn’t have a choice but to get his hair cut. At really bad barbers. ($5 may get you a foot-long sandwich but not a quality haircut.) He came back looking like Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber and no amount of gel could salvage it.
This time he decided he wanted to get his hair cut on his terms. When. And where.
The stylist spent nearly an hour on his hair. Like I said, he had a lot of it. When we left, he was smiling like crazy. Talking like crazy, too. For the rest of the night he just kept walking by the mirror, looking at himself and smiling. I LOVED it.
And guess what? I got home last night and oldest, without any prodding or even asking, was lying on the basement couch in complete quiet reading his book for English. When he was done with that he said he planned to do more homework. He also may stay after school a few times this week to catch up on some Math. Oh, my boy is back.
Again, the Amen.
Is it the hair? The new short, clean cut, looks-like-he’s-got-it together, hair? I’m sure most people would say no. But, well, I’ve got my theories. And I’m going to enjoy this haircut as long as I can.
The fastest way to get a teenage boy to get a haircut is to have one of two people say something: his coach (as in, "You're not playing until you cut your hair so you can see the ball"), or a teenage girl (if she says something like, "You would look so cute with shorter hair"). Never underestimate the power teenage girls have over boys! ;)I have never really thought about hair affecting attitude (except with a bad hair day--man, can that throw my attitude!) But that makes sense--when I dress in clothes that make me feel good and/or I dress up, then I have a spring in my step. If I wear sweats and a sweatshirt, I don't have that spring. Yay for your son!DS let his hair grow out at the end of 7th grade. His school picture for 8th grade it was looking good. After the first of the year he decided to get it all cut and won't let it grow out long since. I think he says no because he knows I liked it long. It starts sticking up when he gets it cut short. I think this is something boys just have to test sometimes. See how cool they can look. I know his grades didn't change and I don't think he got laid back, but who knows, I guess maybe it was just something you two had to go through. Now sounds like he is back and better than ever.I think it is just like everythingelse when it comes to kids, they go through phases and they are part of their development. And teens and pre-teens well they are constantly trying to find themselves. If we stress too much over it, sometimes it pushes them deeper into the thing we want them out of. You handled this one just right I think. Kids are like the weather, only better because yeah they change a lot but if your sneaky enough you can steer them in the right direction. Bravo mom!
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