Why am I alive anyway?
Yeah, what about God?
Nobody can take away
I got my hair, I got my head
I got my brains, I got my ears
I got my eyes, I got my nose
I got my mouth, I got my smile
I got my tongue, I got my chin
I got my neck, I got my boobs"
--Ain't Got No performed by Nina Simone, adapted from the musical Hair.
"Let it fly in the breeze
And get caught in the trees . . .
Hair, flow it, show it
Long as God can grow it
My hair"
--Hair lyrics from the musical Hair.
"I am not my hair"
--Performed by India Arie.
Oh, wait, ain't got no hair, ain't flowing through the trees neither. Because Meghan the hair dresser cut it all off. What was supposed to be a trim with shears turned into a massacre with clippers. An inch or two turned into six or eight. Not my fault people, not my fault, I was clear on what I wanted but then did nothing to stop it. Amazing how one wiggly child can get nerves shaking and short cuts taken. Tsega really needed a trim, everybody kept telling me it was so. It's uneven, all that fuzzy baby hair on top, just a trim, just a little off the sides and top, it's too long . . .
After all, the beauty shop I go to has large numbers of black clients. That is where the black people in town take their hair. The owner is black. Safe, right? Yet when you think about it, I never see any black males in town, young or old, with free hair longer than a 1/2 inch. Jerry's words are still ringing my ears: are you sure she's not just going to run the clippers through it?
I don't mind brushing it out everyday, it's only 5-10 minutes out of the day and I don't mind his fussing. OK, so 1/2 hour to much longer in the tub once or twice a month for thorough comb-outs was getting to us . . . Now it's gone, baby, gone. All those wonderful spiralling curls gone, left on the hair dresser's floor. Swept up and thrown out with garbage. Tsega's magic groove is gone, gone, gone. He's so normal looking now. Yes, still beautiful, for sure. But now he looks so grown up, so man-like. I think he's ready to date. :(
And what really got me depressed? When I announced out loud that his curls will reach out and touch the sky again by the time he is three. Three!!!??? I need a drink . . .
Before:
After:
Of course Tsega could care less and will enjoy less hair tugging in the mornings. Sira and Bereket watched with dad from outside the window and when we got back in the car, Sira pulled at his hair and cried. You (and You) next, my dear.
17 comments:
Is it just me, or does Tsega look a lot more like Bereket now?
Oh man! As in little man. Go get that drink Mama.
What about trim didn't that darn lady understand!?!?! Poor mama. Of course he's incredibly gorgeous with long or short hair, but cry me a river because I loved those spirals too.
I will miss seeing the old hair in the pictures. It helped identify him to an outside reader. But, he does look spiffy.
Of course he is beautiful with short as well as long (how could he not be?), but I too am soooo going to miss those crazy-good curls. *sniff*
Omg...Tsega looks so different! But, he's always cute.
We had a similar hair trauma when Elliott was about the same age--the trim his beautiful afro received looked much the same. I cried, put a lot of hats on him until I got used to it, and was thrilled when it grew to an unruly length once more.
Sorry Samson lost his mane--he's still just as powerfully beautiful though.
gasp! so dramatic-- I wouldn't have recognized him! Still just as cute- that's for sure. but certainly older looking. A nice short cut just before winter. Brrrrr! OK, time for that drink. Cheers- to Tsega :)
Awww...those curls were so pretty! I wish my daughter had those pretty curls. My son has them...not as pretty as Tsega's were but still pretty and Keziah has all the tight curls in the world.
He looks way to grown up with his new hair cut. He looks cute with his new hair, but I also loved the wild look.
Lynn
okay. that settles it. between your experience and nancy's, i will never not ever cut my children's hair. can't trust myself, can't trust the pros. argh!
Oh man. So sorry Tsega and traumatized mamma. I think as pay back you should run the shears through her hair!!! (-assuming she isn't already bald of course; ) )
Oh mama, I'm so sorry! He's still beautiful, of course, but oh, those curls! They'll be back in no time, and I promise to love him just as much until then.
His hair looks a LOT like my little girl who is 2. I have gotten advised to get it straightened already (!) and I would much rather endure combing it out! I love it!
Brooke-- what stupid advice! Such pretty coils, why would anybody choose to "fix" them? Argh! Seriously, I only combed Tsega's hair out like twice a month. No big thing! A brushing each day was all it took to stay un-matted.
Besides, kinky coils are in! :)
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