Eight years old, going on 16

One of the big ways we have saved over the years is investing in hair clippers. Once a month the ‘Kocsis Household Barbershop’ opens and everyone gets ready to be sheered cut and styled. Some ‘customers’ are easier then others. My husband is hair-follicle challenged (Yes, he is bald.) so he is easy. *C*, 5 years old, starts to ‘itch’ before I’ve even turned the clippers on and swears to high-heaven that his hair ‘hurts’ when it is cut. It used to take two adults to cut *C*… one to hold, one to cut. Now he just deals; yet it is still a bit painful to listen to him the whole time.

Two nights ago the proverbial neon “Open” light turned on in the Kocsis Kitchen. I pulled the clippers out of the closet. I set the table cloth down on the ground. I pulled the bar stool over for the first customer to sit upon. *E*, 8 years old climbed aboard and I pulled out the usual winter-season guard (longer in the winter, shorter in the summer). I put the guard on my tool-of-the-trade and turned it on. “MOM! Please just cut around my ears and neck. I want to grow the rest of it longer.” What?! I have never had a request. I usually just cut to my own desire.

*E*’s hair was already shaggy by my barber shop standards so I figured I was going to be taking quite a bit off. Suddenly, I was thrown for a loop as my eight-year old declared he wanted more style then cut. I looked at him, as if “Who took my son and replaced him with a very early pre-teen?”

I explained that if he is going to let his hair get longer he is going to have to take care of it (like actually brushing it in the morning). However, he has VERY thick, wavy hair. A simple comb won’t suffice. So he happily picked out some “Surfer Gel” at the store as well. Now he is really styling.

Eight years old. I wasn’t ready for this.
Kids grow up fast! I’m envisioning a real barber-shop visit in the not too distant future. Looks like I’ll have to find some other creative way to save that $10 each month!