My life is always an adventure. Many of you inquire about how I manage and function on a regular basis with working from home, homeschooling, having 5 kiddos and being pregnant with our 6th, a husband that works lots and lots of crazy hours, 2 huge dogs, 1 crazy cat... the list goes on.
So, I decided to start a new column I hope you find entertaining, informative and insightful as to how I do it.
This week was somewhat of a #fail. My 4 year old decided to do this to her hair:
(Do not feel too bad for her, the tear is only because I was taking a picture of what she did and she didn't want Grandma to know).
I actually found out she did this after she had gone to bed at night, one of her older siblings reported there was hair in the bathroom trashcan. With 5 kids you may wonder how I knew it was her... first, I knew it wasn't the baby and I was easily able to eliminate my oldest since he was the one telling me about the hair. My 7 year old is patiently waiting for her hair to grow out to donate it to Wigs for Kids so she was eliminated quickly. That left my 5 year old son (who has long hair too) and my 4 year old daughter. How did I know which? Easy. She has done it before (twice before to be exact) and he loves his long hair and would never cut it or let someone else cut it. He waits until Grandma comes for her yearly visit to get his hair cut because she takes him on a lunch date. More about that another time.
My first inclination was to run upstairs and deal with it. Then I sat back and thought about how it was already night, I was exhausted and there really was NOTHING I could do about it at that point. So, I waited until morning thinking I would cool off a little. It didn't really work. She walked in my bedroom in the morning and I saw her hair and burst into tears. Then I proceeded to cry for about 3 hours off and on, especially when I would look at her hair. I posted on Facebook and received some great advice from friends and settled down. It's just hair after all. SHE is more important than hair. Even if we are having family photos taken next weekend. Even if it is Easter weekend and I want cute pictures this weekend. Still, she is more important.
It took about 2 days of stewing before I came to my senses and realized that not only is it just hair, it is also a perfect reflection of her personality. This little girl has been my biggest parenting challenge. She is so sweet and so fiery all at the same time. She is tender and sensitive yet sassy and bold. She stands up for what she believes (even though she is often wrong). She takes consequences because she says the naughty thing she did was worth it. She takes risks and is an adventurer. I see so much of myself in her, but I see even more of my stubborn, strong willed husband. And I love her to pieces. But the hair... super short- it reflects all of these qualities about her. So, we went to the hair dresser to see what they could do. This was quite a feat because it meant dragging 3 of my other kiddos along and convincing this one that she was getting out of the car and she was getting her hair cut (she was petrified of looking like a boy). I had a vision of a very short pixie-cut.
She made no attempt to suppress her feelings about her hair being cut this short. Thankfully she did not try to get down or run away (I wouldn't put it past her). But she made her feelings known throughout the haircut and even asked if we could cut her brother's hair and glue it to her head so she could still have her "bobbie cut" as she calls it.
This is something I never would have imagined getting one of my daughters otherwise, but it is so stinking cute on her! The hair dresser did a fantastic job and was so patient with my girl.
Paired with a headband we found while shopping for dress shoes, I think I kinda love it. Don't get me wrong, I'm still looking forward to it growing back, but for now I love it. And I love HER.
Check out my post on Facebook to share your thoughts and ideas or pictures of your own kid's shenanigans.
