Thursday, September 9, 2010

Flow It, Show It



Have I ever mentioned that my kid has never had a haircut? Ever? And she's almost four and a half?

There's a lot of hair there.


This photo just doesn't do it justice. I'll see if I can find a better one. I mean, it hits her waist dry. There's still a little bit of the wave and curl she had when she was younger and her hair was shorter -- there was a transcendent period when her hair formed ringlets down to her shoulder blades without my doing a thing to it. Even now, as long as it is, the ends still curl a bit, especially when it's been freshly washed. And it's glorious. Truly. I love it.

Okay, I have a confession. There was a commercial years ago, in the mid-'90s probably, that featured two little girls with ridiculously long hair running down a hall in their nightgowns. I think they jumped onto their parents' bed, family hijinks ensued, etc etc; I have no idea what they were selling (not hair products; coffee maybe? mortgages? Hell, I don't know). ANYWAY. I loved that ad; I was completely charmed by those two kids and thought I'd love to have a little girl someday with hair like that. And now I do. (Okay, a confession-within-a-confession: Jane was very much part of that picture. I think she would have had similarly glorious hair, maybe darker. [These are the little things that get to me: missing out on the older Jane, not knowing who she would have been, what she might have become.])

But the thing is, when does it become too much? I mean, Sarah lets me wash and condition and comb it. It's usually in braids or ponytails, generally tangle- and food-free, so maintenance isn't yet an issue. But there's going to be a point when it's just silly. Just a silly, silly amount of hair. I just hope we'll recognize that point before we get there. 

(Ooh, found another picture from earlier this summer:


See? Way long.)

I'm sure the day will come in a classically inevitable way: she'll hack at it herself, or burdock will get ensnarled in it, or she'll fall asleep with purloined gum in her mouth and wake up with the wad inextricably fused into a fuzzy mat (not that such a thing ever ever happened to me when I was maybe six or seven, and my mom and I discovered that ice and peanut butter do not solve all gum/hair peccadilloes). And when it happens we'll march off to a punnily-named hairdresser's and hope there's enough uncompromised hair to donate to Locks of Love.

Until that day comes, however, I'm going to delight in it, thrilled that she lets me play with it and brush it and braid it, and hoping that the cut, when it comes, will be another grand adventure for her.

8 comments:

mommatosena said...

TIa I was missing Jane when you were describing that ad as well and I believe that darker hair prolly would have been a truth. HUGS I know there have still got to be times when it catches your breath in your chest! Lucky you for having Sarah that WILL let you manage the hair and as long as that continues let that hair grow. That was what changed the tide in our house when I wasn't allowed to manage! She is a gorgeous child!

Rowena said...

What beautiful hair Sarah has! And she's wearing the hair pin I sent you! Yay. I'm glad she's getting to use it. My daughter won't wear pins in her hair, or anything else.

Tasha said...

Her hair is GORGEOUS!

Grace said...

I definitely didn't realize she had so much hair! As long as she lets you keep it hygienic and presentable, enjoy it! When I was about her age I asked my mom to cut mine (which, AFAIK, had also not been cut since I was born) off because "short hair goes better with pants", and I instantly regretted it. My next haircut was when I was 23. Seriously.

Cindy said...

Lots of gorgeousness going on there .... enjoy it while you (all) can!

Frances said...

There's no reason to ever have to cut it, really, as long as she cooperates with you in keeping it clean and untangled.

I know quite a few (Indian) women who have never ever cut their hair, and never will (one of the tenets of the Sikh religion is that believers do not cut their hair, men or women - that's why the men wear turbans, as it's a way to keep their hair tidy and out of the way). So it's not impossible to never cut one's hair, just unusual in New England :-)

AG Ambroult said...

Such pretty hair! We cut our girl's hair when they were three and it was sad to see their baby ringlets go away.
I can't believe maintenance is NOT an issue! Impressive.

sillymonkeymommy said...

Your daughter, and her hair, are beautiful. When it does come time to cut it, donate it to locks of love so another little girl can look just as beautiful in those locks :)