I have bangs

I got my hair cut on Saturday and as strands fell to my chest piece by piece I couldn't help but remember the time my dad took Sister and I to get our bi-annual trim. We were still in the single digits and most likely unaware of what a "trim" entailed. I suppose the stylist on duty that day was new/inexperienced/just plain bad but she eagerly accepted our business. My dad waited in the reception area, undoubtedly reading up on his celebrity gossip (or whatever gossip they had in the late 80's), as the stylist went all Edward Scissorhands on us. The end result was two little girls who looked like they belonged on a farm in Germany at the turn of the century.

German milkmaids

Shortly after the end product was revealed, there was a big to-do and who I assume was the manager of the salon pulled Edward Scissorhands to the side and gave her a stern talking to, showcased by a severe finger wagging. My dad looked a little surprised and a bit nervous, as I'm sure he was bracing himself for what my mother was going to say upon our return home. I remember bouncing on the chairs at the salon, gazing at my beautiful 'do in the mirror, flipping (what was left of) it from side to side as I watched it gracefully fall into place. My little 6-year-old self thought she was the cat's meow.

Not long after the follicle homicide, I was at a park in the city playing with a bunch of kids. It was the days of cooties and I remember that we had split up in two groups - boys and girls. I can't recall the details, but I somehow got mixed up with the boys, listening intently to their plan of domination. Thanks to my styling haircut, it took the group a moment to realize that I was, in fact, a female. Talk about a complex! Screams abound and the boys scattered away. From then on out my dad opted to stay out of the salons.

Luckily the haircut I received on Saturday is no where near as humiliating as it was 20 years ago, but it will take a little getting used to. For instance, I have bangs again which I wasn't expecting to walk out with when I went in. And lucky for the stylist, who was not Edward Scissorhands, everyone has complimented me on my new do - a do which I still watch fall into place as I flip my head from side to side, all the while bouncing on chairs.