Tuesday, June 23, 2015

I want him to know how far he's come


Max got a haircut the other day, which was overdue given that his bangs have been impairing his vision. I think he looks too cute with floppy hair and thanks to Max's newfound fondness for hair gel, his 'do was actually pretty suave.

Hey, babe, come here often?
Going to the barber shop with Max—along with various local restaurants, the pediatrician's office and our neighborhood movie theater—always makes me realize how far he's come. He used to wail and generally melt down at these places, mostly due to sensory overload but also from fear of the unknown. 

Getting a haircut was a particular form of torture, for him and for us. Dave had to sit in the chair and hold a wailing Max on his lap. Max tended to leave the salon with a post-modern look, as in, it was very ragged-y because he'd been twisting around the entire time and the hapless stylist couldn't get a straight line. 

This time, Max made a beeline for his favorite seat (thankfully, it was unoccupied). He sat serenely as the stylist cut his hair, stopping her only to note that he had to have hair gel. He giggled when she buzz cut the back of his hair.

I felt so proud of this grown-up kid. And I wanted him to feel good about himself, too.

"Max, do you remember when you were little and you used to cry when you came here?" I asked.

"Fireman Max!" he answered, as he does when I forget to address him by his correct (though not yet legal) name.

"Fireman Max, do you remember that you used to cry when you came here?" I asked.

"Yeah!" he said, tearing his eyes away from his reflection to look at me. 

The guy who owns the barbershop shot me a wry look, because he for sure remembered Max's haircut meltdowns. 

"And now, you're grown up and you're doing a great job of getting a haircut!" I said. 

"YEAH!" he said, grinning. 

"YEAH!" said the stylist. 

Max looked very grown up after the cut, and it made me kind of wistful. My baby. But oh, so handsome. 


8 comments:

  1. Max looks just like his Dad with his new haircut!

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    1. You know, it's funny but until you and a few other readers pointed that out, I hadn't noticed but YES! True! They both have awesome hair.

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  2. He looks so charming and so grown up! Where them girls at? ;)

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  3. Looking good! All the ladies love Max.

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  4. I was going to say the same as Courtney -- really noticing the resemblance with Dave lately, especially in this one. I suspect that would thrill him to bits, and rightly so!

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  5. I love the haircut, Fireman Max! You look awesome!

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  6. Yes, so handsome! My 13 year-old was at the dentist yesterday. As with haircuts, the dentist was also a source of high anxiety. Our dentist used to sing (at my request) and that was often calming. We reminisced about that yesterday. It IS nice to reflect and see how far they're come! Cathy

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Thanks for sharing!