Change

January 2012

Before & After

It is the end of an era, for Liam's hair that is. Good bye to mommy's favorite little surfer boy hair. Hello to Liam's favorite short hair.

It is no secret that I have always loved Liam's long hair. While other mothers usually go short with their children's haircuts, mostly to make life easier in the mornings, I kept Liam's hair long. I didn't mind the long untangling sessions. He had never stepped foot in a barber shop or hairdresser because I always chose to trim his golden hair myself. I have only four hairs on my own head so that is partly the reason for my fascination with long hair (on anybody, really). I sure enjoyed running my fingers through his long, silky hair. Well, that is all but a distant memory now.

Truth be told, Liam had been growing tired of the long hair. He tells us point blank that he wants to "be just like daddy", short hair and all. One day, I decided that his hair needed trimming. He was not his usual cooperative self and not in good spirits at all. That should have been my cue to leave it for later or for another day, but despite his constant complaining and ill humor, I went through with it anyway. Big mistake. I mean I made a mistake and took off a little too much on one side and the front was crooked. It was the best I could do under such circumstances. I swept up the hair and disposed of it. I came back and saw more hair on the floor. I was sure I had swept that side of the floor. I look up to see Liam hiding in a little corner with scissors in hand. Gasp! I don't know how, but I had forgotten to put the scissors away first like I usually do. He had just chopped off a bunch of hair from the back of his head. It wasn't terribly noticeable, but it looked really messy. After my initial horror, screams followed, mostly mine. I know that I shouldn't have reacted that way. It's just hair, after all. I was just really disappointed and mostly shocked to see him holding my sharp, pointy, hair-cutting scissors.

The following week on President's Day to be exact, we went to daddy's barber shop just a couple of blocks away from where we live. My husband loves that barber. He's this sweet, old middle-eastern guy who was trained in France. It's an unpretentious shop with no frills and by the looks, it has been there for decades with the same old dated look. He rested a plain wooden board on the armrests of the chair and prepped Liam for his first hair cut ever in a barber shop.

To say that Liam was super excited is an understatement while I, on the other hand, felt so uneasy that I even had a difficult time taking a deep breath. Liam thought it was weird that he had to sit on a wooden board, but he quickly got over it. I, however couldn't get over the fact that he was getting his beautiful long hair cut short, so I cried. Yes, the grown woman crying at the barber shop was me. It's just that it seemed like with every cut he was looking more and more like a big boy and not my baby boy anymore. Understandable, no? He reached over and wiped my tears and gave me such a lovingly look that it just melted my heart.

The barber was great and very patient both with squirmy little Liam and his mama with the constant picture taking. Liam looked like an old pro often times giving the barber pointers. He actually thought that the barber would forget to cut the front so that his hair would not hang over his eyebrows. Ha!

Here is a picture diary of his experience:

 Getting ready for his big boy haircut at the barber

Just a few seconds before this shot, he whispered to me "Don't cry, mommy. I love you."

Concerned Liam: "Why do I need this girl clip?"

"Okay, but don't forget to cut my hair in the front."

 No fancy chair for my little Liam.

He got to sit on a wooden board on top of the regular barber's chair.

 Liam having a good time at the barber. Daddy's reflection!

"That's what I'm talking about!"

Lookin' good so far! Thumbs up from Liam!
(Whoa! Check out the poster in the background!)

Mommy's precious boy already looking so much older.
(The boo-boo on his face happened when he sneaked down to our basement and
fell while on the treadmill. He wore his Darth Vader mask to hide his boo-boo.)

Almost finished!

Ah! The clippers!

 He could hardly stand the "tickling" of the clippers.

Done!

He loves his new short hair cut! Even though Mommy shed a few tears, I like it too my sweet little boy! Excellent choice. Thank you Michel!

I was thumbing recently through a celebrity magazine and I saw an adult version of Liam's long hair. (Shudder!) All I can say is that we definitely made the right decision in cutting Liam's hair. Farewell to Liam's long hair and thanks for the fun memories!