Going Bald and Beautiful

For those of you who know me, there is one battle in my life that is reoccurring. That is the battle I have with my hair. This battle started when I was three years old. I had this bad habit of using my little fingers to twirl my hair into knots and then I would yank them out, effectively leaving bald spots throughout my scalp. One night, I twirled a knot I could not get out, so I found a pair of scissors and clipped it off. Legend has it that I went to show my dad who was distracted by watching TV. I believe he glanced at me and told me my barber skills were "very nice". Armed with this encouragement, I returned to my mirror and went to town. The next time I wandered into the living room to show my dad, he realized his folly and made me go wake up my mom. Needless to say, she was less impressed. I still remember the beating I received that night. But the spanking and grounding were not enough punishment for my mom. She took me to the barber the next day who could do very little with my creativity. My hair was completely shorn and I looked like a little boy for years.....

I could never have known how that one childhood experience would haunt me into adulthood. I have gone to varying lengths, styles and colors and yet I always seem to be looking for something different. I have paid lots of money for professionals to take a stab at making me happy with my lovely locks, but usually end up happiest when the scissors or sometimes clippers, are in the hands of friends or my twelve-year old sister. A little over a year ago, right after my hair had reached an all-time longness of shoulder-length, I had an irresistible urge to shave my head. Although I had cut my hair short before, number two on the buzzer was a new one. This haircut met with mixed reactions. I loved it. Then I spent the next year and a half growing my hair out. Again.

This August I was able to almost pull all of my hair into a hair tie. I couldn't handle it. I got it cut when I returned to Boulder. It was a very nice little bob, clipped right underneath my ears. I couldn't handle that either. Tonight, I took the only thing I could find that could do the job, kitchen scissors, and found a mirror. I put Elisabet, my better half and counsel, on speaker phone and started clipping away. Occasionally I would curse myself for my impetuousness, but my love of short hair won out. I managed to cut it somewhat evenly....

The nice thing about having a problem like impulsive hair cutting is that I only have to be patient. My hair will start growing out again tonight.