The Haircut

Jolly Reader,

Well, let me give you some hard earned advice today. If a person cuts your hair with your back to the mirror, remember the words of Laura Araujo - THIS IS A BAD THING!!! I decided today would be the day to lighten the load of hairs on my head. Truthfully, my son has been on a 'no haircut' kick for a while now and he is starting to have to part his bangs with his hands to get a good look at anything, so I pulled the whole, "Let's go get lunch and then both get haircuts!" He was surprisingly open to the idea, but asked if I would go first. I agreed that this was a fine plan. Ha! Let's just say that Dominic did not have to get a haircut, because after I saw what had happened to me I was not about to be a mother that gave up her child to those shears...no siree!

This is a reputable salon that I will keep nameless, but I should have known I had something to worry about when the stylist whispered to the girl next to us that she needed help. I had asked for an "A" line cut with tapering in the back to stack and add some volume. I had found a simple picture and felt confident that it was not complex. Who knew that I would end up with a reversed widow's peak at the bottom of my skull?

I could tell the stylist was nervous, but I have such thick hair that it really is hard to screw up irreparably. Then she told me that she mainly cuts men's hair. I almost slipped out of the chair. With a smile I set my face like flint and told myself I was not going to give up on her just because she cuts men's hair. Slowly I relaxed and she gained some confidence and snip, snip, snip went the rhythm of the shears. She asked if she could use the blow dryer and I said, "Yes, of course." The whole time up to this point, I had yet to see the mirror, because it was behind me! Then she did it. Trust evaporated. She picked up the roller brush and dove in like Amelia Bedelia. She must have thought I was Shirley Temple's stand in, because that woman rolled and blew dry my hairs until they were ready to fall out of my head.

When I got up, my son's eyes were as wide as saucers and he tried to smile, but none availed. The stylist next to us could not hide the horror as it set in. I took one look in the mirror and heard, "Get out! Before she gets out the curling iron!!!" I looked at Dominic and he said, "I'm not getting a haircut, Mom!" I said, "I know. Let's get out of here!" I have never paid for anything so quickly in my life.

On the way home I was fuming. Then I heard, "Gee mom, I really like what she did to your hairs." "Oh," I said. :-]

I came home, jumped in the shower, blew it dry again (this time without the roller brush’s help) and went to cutting myself. After a few minutes and a significant pile of hair on the bathroom floor I breathed a sigh of relief. Laura Araujo was recognizable - as an adult!

This was a very important life lesson for me today. Always ask to face the mirror!

Laura Araujo