My (not so) Little Pretty One....

Things have gotten quite exciting in my neck of the woods, as of late (refer to the 'Sisterhood' episode for clarification, if necessary...). One week ago, nature sent a little 'wake-up' call that girlhood was on its way out. I anticipated *that* happening, and dealt with it quite nicely- thank you very much. Getting the second 'memo' about the imminent transformation to teenhood, however, was a bit harder for me to deal with.

It is pretty much known that I'm not a big participant in the whole 'beauty thing'. I believe in the concept of daily showering/hair-washing/deodorant applying. I prefer my soap to be Crabtree and Evelyn, but good 'ol Pantene from Costco will do for hair. I like to finish up my little "beauty routine" with a light coat of Clinique lipstick (Black honey- most popular sheer they sell), and my ubiquitous ponytail. Oh... and did I mention that I am on the yearly haircut plan (My Stylist reams me every year for waiting too long to come in)??? Very fuss-free, and quick!

Because Child has been raised by me, this 'hair simplicity' is what she has known her whole life. She was born with a platinum blonde mohawk, which required absolutely no help from me to stand erect (that's my girl, low maintenance from day 1!). Over the course of two years, the mohawk filled out to cover her whole head; time for the first haircut! Because she had thin, blonde hair, the solution was obvious to me; she would wear the "blonde kid haircut"!!!! The "blonde kid haircut" was a lovely chin-length bob, with a nice fringe of bangs across the forehead. If I was feeling really adventurous, the 'do could even support a little fabric bow barrette. Simple, easy,...done!

Around the age of K-5, child decided to grow-out the bangs. This was uber-cool with moi, because then she could go on my annual haircutting plan with me (woo hoo!)... By the time 2nd Grade rolled around, the bangs had caught up to the rest of the hair, and everything was 'even-steven' (agian, simple and easy). There were a few trims here and there over the next couple of years; in 4th Grade, however, she got a taste from her peers about how the other girls "rolled":

Child: "Mommy, I want side bangs."

Me: "We spent two years growing out your bangs years ago. You need to pull your hair back for Ballet/Gymnastics."

Child: (only in 4th, not quite having the 'negotiating skills' she would soon acquire)"Here, I'll draw them for you. This is what I want. All the girls have them!!!!"

(Being the artist in the family, Child sat down and drew a picture of said bangs, and passed it to me)

Me: (looking at picture, the shock of which caused me to choke on my own spit) "These will make you look like some chick that rolled out of bed (after a sleepless night), threw on a robe, and then indulged in a cup of coffee and a cig... No thanks!"

Child: "Hmmmppp" (Because back then, *I* still had the last word)

So, we coasted through 5th with the long, simple hair. In 6th Grade, however, there was a new discovery to be made- layers!

Child: "Mommy, all of the girls have layers. I want some, too!"

Mom: (refering back to previous arguments about 'keeping it simple')"You need to tie your hair back for gymnastics. Also, it's competition season, and I need to have enough length for the required bun."

Child: (slowly moving towards the realization that maybe Mommy might not be having the last word for too much longer) "HMMMPPP!"

Well, fast forward to the present- 7th Grade. It was about time for my annual haircut, and I decided to bring Child along for her, errrr... trim, as well:

Hairdresser Jackie (HJ): "What are we going to be doing today, Child?"

Child: (looking sideways at Mommy, realizing that the sneak attack would be the way to go)" I think I would like some layers"

Me: (looking over at Child, feeling a bit duped; this was not in the plan) "HJ, can you make some v-e-r-y subtle ones?"

HJ: (wanting to keep receiving the *very* generous annual tips, read my not-so-amused expression perfectly) "Sure, we can do that!"

So, Child left HJ's chair with a good amount of (mother-approved) length removed and a *few* layers. Unfortunately, no one noticed the layers, or the shorter length, and Child was not very happy.

Two weeks ago, the battle drum started up again:

Child: "Mommy, I want to get my hair A LOT shorter, and I want to get A LOT of layers."

Me: "( stony-cold stare which could be best translated as 'been there, discussed that, enough!)"

(Husband, the unfortunate victim of circumstance, happened to wander through the battlefield)

Husband: (noticing sneering Child and annoyed Wife)"What are you guys talking about?"

Child: (eager for a fresh ear, and being a 'Daddy's Girl', became re-energized) "I want to get my hair cut shorter, and get lots of layers!"

Husband: (looking at me)"So are you going to call and make her an appointment?"

Child: (Eyes popping out of skull. YESSSS... after all these years, the final word appears to be finally *hers*) "So I can, Daddy?"

Husband: "Yeah, sure"

Poor Husband glanced over in my direction, thinking that he had solved the problem (but still confused as to why my icy-glare was boring through the back of his skull...). He had only wanted to help, but had forgotten to consult with me about the 'hair master plan'. After sulking for about two days, I did the only reasonable, and right, thing; I made the appointment.

Soooo.... yesterday after school was the big day. Knowing that Child still has a tendency to want to test me when people outside of the family are present, I reviewed the game-plan with her; hair falling below the shoulders, and, yes (begrudgingly, though), some layers:

HJ: "Hi guys, you're back. Has it been a year?"

Me: (nudging Child) "Well, not for Child. Don't worry, though, I'll be sticking to my timetable (smirk) "

HJ: (looking over at Child) "What are we doing today?"

Child: (smile slowly crept across her face. eyes are darting from HJ to me)"I'd like to have my hair above my shoulders, with lots of layers."

Me: (not missing a beat, and not afraid of being 'bad mom') "The layers are fine, but we talked about the length staying below the shoulders."

Child conceeded, and the two of them went off to shampoo her luxurious, long locks for the last time. They soon returned, and HJ placed a cape around Child so they could get down to business. HJ then showed me on Child's back where the hair would fall- it looked OK. Having a bit of "over-controlling Mommy remorse", I let something slip out of my mouth that I never should have:

Me: (to a happily-cutting HJ) "Child was wanting for the layers to be noticeable. She said that last time no one could tell that they were there- including Husband."

HJ: (after dealing with boring 'ol "just a trim" me, and hearing the words noticeable and layers, a mysterious twinkle was visible in HJ's eyes) "Sure, we can do that!"

I got a bit mesmerized (read: spacey) watching the haircut. All of a sudden, I looked up, and saw HJ taking big sections of hair and cutting additional inches off the original decided upon 5 (look of surprise)! Next, I witnessed sections of hair surrounding the face being trimmed to almost chin level (blank look of horror)!! What happened next gave yield to the proverbial 'silent scream':

HJ: (appraising Child's hair from behind, thoughtfully pausing, then grabbing a big pair of hair sheers) "Because of the way her hair is, I'm going to need to take off a bit more in back to really make it noticeable."

With that, she took multiple sections of hair from the back of Child's head, and sheared another 2-3 inches off of those. Trying not to get my lip tangled in my upper braces, and grasping the arms of the styling chair (as not to spring at HJ like a caged zoo animal), I just smiled. I just smiled.

When Child realized that her hair was above her shoulders, she was thrilled. When she saw that her layers were pretty much everywhere, she was even more thrilled. While I was thrilled to know that she was thrilled, I knew that it was going to take me awhile to get used to the new young woman looking back at me.

When we arrived home, Child sprinted upstairs to show Husband her new 'do. I used that time to sort of settle my feelings on what had just transpired; I had picked up a girl from school, and had come home with a sophisticated almost-teen (I've got about three months till it's *official*, and I'm not wanting to rush that eventuality). Yep... I am (still) mourning the 'ol long-haired (unlayered) days of yore... I will be the first to admit it. I never would have guessed that the process of "letting go" of my daughter would be started by the snipets of blonde hair left behind on the salon floor.