Tuesday, August 19, 2008

The Mommy 'Do

You have seen this phenomenon. You may have succumb to this phenomenon. A woman with long hair gives birth to a child. She wears her hair in a pony tail for a few weeks, keeping things out of the reach of entangling baby fingers.

Then, one day, a month or so in, the hair is gone.

I've resisted it twice. But I understand. At that stage, your life stinks, in the literal rather than figurative sense: of sour milk and worse things. The contrast of being skinnier than nine months pregnant has worn off and been replaced with being fatter than ever before that. None of your clothes fit, the ones that do need washed, you feel frumpy and sleep-deprived and your hair keeps getting in your face or the baby's fingers.

And it occurs to you: there's only one of those things I can do anything about. So you do it.

This time the lure was too strong.

The extra danger for me is that I can cut my own hair. This has nothing to do with talent and everything to do with hair texture. A beautician told me twelve years ago that my hair would look the same no matter who cut it, and I've never been back to one since. But I usually just keep it in the same safe shoulder-length range.

This time I decided to go farther.

I cut bangs first. I haven't worn bangs since I was twenty. It was rather nice to look in the mirror and see a reprise of myself at twenty. Of course I hated the bangs when I was twenty, but that seemed irrelevant: the point was a reminder of myself when my skinny clothes fit and I had time to think about topics besides meal planning.

Emboldened, I began whacking further. Then I realized my mistake. I hadn't worn my hair short-short since eleven. No one wants to be reminded of themselves at eleven. When I was eleven and had the short hair, I always wore it underneath a shocking pink hat with "Camp Wakoma" emblazoned on it. My primary form of interaction with the opposite sex was arm-wrestling, at which I generally won.

But I'm getting used to it. It is easy. It never hangs down in my face. DOB likes it, and shows no inclination to arm wrestle with me (he says my shorter arms give me an unfair advantage).

D1 commented initially, "When you cut your hair you don't look like Mommy anymore," an ambiguous statement--perhaps, deep down, that was my goal. Except, of course, that I do look more like a Mommy than ever, because most mommies hit this exact same point.

13 comments:

Carrie said...

Of course it's really only important that both you and DOB like it. However, it IS cute and I like it also. Which I realize was entirely not the point. Just an added bonus? On so many fronts.

the Joneses said...

It's GREAT! It suits you very well.

-- SJ

Meredith said...

I think it looks both French and flattering.

--from your understanding friend, once desperate enough to let a 5-year-old cut her ponytail off

Rachelle said...

I have been there but I never looked that cute! -rlr

Juliana said...

Very nice! I like it. And you really don't look like a little girl with short-short hair. And I remember when you were!

melissa said...

cute! hope the adjustment with more little ones is going well!

Sarah M. said...

Ditto to what Carrie said, it's only really important that you and DOB like it - but I have to add - I love it! You look so pretty!

Anonymous said...

You look great!

Please never ever tell my kids!

I have told them that you ALWAYS look bad when you cut your own hair (this was after Klenda's third or fourth unauthorized try at cutting her own hair...)

Kinsleys5 said...

Way cute!!

Amy K said...

Very, very cute. It looks great on you!

CappuccinosMom said...

Well, I think it looks cute.

Zippy said...

You look adorable. =) I love the new hair!

Amy @ Amy's FMQ Adventures said...

Too bad my hair didn't look that cute when I whacked it off myself!