Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

Christmas pictures are all the fashion these days, and for a very good reason.  It gives you the chance to show the growth of your children to those loved ones who don't get to see them but once a year or even less often.  I had every intention of getting those pictures done so I could be a part of this trend with my family, but, alas, the time sneaked up on me, quiet as that mouse in 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  Of course, I waited too long, especially for that special look I wanted my gang to have in their photo.

Nyssa hadn't picked up a pair of scissors to do damage to anything since this spring, and I really thought we had won this battle.  Well, we won the battle about not cutting her own hair, but apparently she did not think the ban on beauty shop extended to her siblings.  Sigh.  Nathaniel wouldn't let her near him with a pair of scissors.  He's too smart for that.  And, though Benjamin adores his big sister, he's too afraid of that.  So.  I give you one guess as to which child remains.

That's right.  My doppleganger had an unexpected and unplanned haircut.  It was just shy of a month since I gave her bangs because the hair in front of her face kept getting in her eyes.  But I thought the little curls on the back of her head were so cute.  They weren't tight little curls, but rather long, loose ones.  Her hair was straight until it got to the ends and then it curled under just a twist or two, and it was adorable!  I so wanted to get a picture of her with it but that kept getting put back because my phone was never charged when I thought about it.  So, alas, I have no picture of the way she was, toddling about looking like a little girl now instead of a tiny baby.


I had about 4 nasty bugs simultaneously that completely wiped me out from December 13 until a couple days ago.  They're not gone completely, but I am finally out of bed and able to take care of the kids again.  Evidently, my oldest daughter did not feel they were getting the attention they needed while I was on prescribed bed rest.  So, last weekend, when she wanted to talk to me and I wasn't available, she decided to  play in the hall as opposed to her room where, incidentally, she was supposed to be anyway as it was past her bedtime.

I heard crying on the stairs and discovered that Gabriela was there, not knowing which way to go.  But when I looked at her, something wasn't right.  Her bangs were shorter than they had been except for a few wisps.  That wasn't the only thing, though, for when I picked her up, I saw that almost all her curls in back were gone too.  I called Richard to look at her.  Our little one had regressed in age about 6 months, at least in her appearance.  I had to cut the rest of her hair to make it look somewhat even, though right on top of her head, she now had a small area that almost looked like an army buzz cut.

The fact that she sat still long enough for Nyssa to cut her hair is a miracle in and of itself, but the fact that she didn't get hurt at the young age of 15 months with a 6 year old at the helm with scissors is enough to prove to me that she has at least one guardian angel assigned to her at all times, maybe more.  She didn't cry, nor fuss, from what I heard, and she was only a room away.  But her precious hair was all over the hallway and bathroom floor in a couple little piles.  All that hair!  I could have bawled my eyes out!  I'm not above confessing that I did have a short cry, thinking not only of the hair, but of what could have happened to her if she had moved just the wrong way, especially after I saw the scissors I took from her sister.

So  Nyssa was punished, I eventually forgave her, though I confess it took a lot more time than usual for me to do so, and Gabriela has much shorter hair.  She's so tiny anyway that she really does look like she's only around 9 months old again.  It's vanity, I know, and it's not even my hair.  But, by golly, it was so pretty!  We even had it in pigtails several times recently.

Why do we think that when we don't get what we want we can do something we know is not right and still get what we wanted in the first place?  People get hurt or angry at us because we have acted unjustly, but we decide out of spite in a moment's notice that we are going to do something to get their attention.  And when we do, we wonder why they're so upset.  One of these days we have to learn that life is what it is, that it is not always going to treat us fairly, and that we have to act respectfully in spite of those childish impulses to act irresponsibly.

One of those days, that pair of "scissors" may turn out to be a deadly weapon instead of a mere expression of our frustration.   I shudder to think what could have happened if Gabriela had lost her balance and fallen toward the scissors or if she turned her head too quickly the wrong way.  We've all seen it.  A word unjustly and unfitly spoken out of spite, hurt, and anger can cause more damage than we could imagine.  I'm just glad it was something as irrelevant in the grand scheme of things as her hair that was taken away, because some things can't grow back; hair can.  But it may not be the same ever again.  After Nyssa's curls were cut the first time, they never came back.

Why do we think that when we don't get what we want we can do something we know is not right and still get what we wanted in the first place?  People get hurt or angry at us because we have acted unjustly, but we decide out of spite in a moment's notice that we are going to do something to get their attention.  And when we do, we wonder why they're so upset.  One of these days we have to learn that life is what it is, that it is not always going to treat us fairly, and that we have to act respectfully in spite of those childish impulses to act irresponsibly.