“Mommy Cut Hair”

The other day as I was helping Emma brush her teeth, she said, “Mommy cut hair?”

Which could mean she wanted me to cut her hair or she felt my hair was in need of a trim or she was remembering when I cut her hair a few months ago, it’s hard to say what she actually meant without more information.  “Do you want me to cut your hair Em?” I asked for clarification.

“No?” she said as though it were a question.  “Mommy cut hair?” she said again with the same upward, questioning  tone.

“You want me to get my hair cut?”

“Yes?” she said it as though she wasn’t sure or maybe she was asking me if I agreed with her assessment of my hair needing a trim.

“Really?   Do you think I’m due for a trim?” I asked, looking at our reflections in the bathroom mirror.

“Yes!”

“Really?”  I asked again, not at all sure I was interested in getting my hair cut.

“Yes!  Mommy cut hair like this,” Emma said, reaching over and pulling my hair up so that it barely grazed my shoulders.

“Wow Em!  That’s really short!”  I laughed.  “Are you sure?”

“Yes!”  Emma said and then she ran out of the bathroom.

“Wait Em!  We aren’t finished with your teeth!”  I called.  When there was no reply I left the bathroom and found Emma in the kitchen wielding a pair of scissors.  “Cut Mommy’s hair!” Emma laughed when she saw me.

“Whoa!  Em, no way!  We are NOT cutting my hair right now.  You have to put those away!”

Emma laughed and said, “Mommy cut hair now.”

“No.  Not now,” I said.  “Maybe I’ll get my hair cut later.”

Richard and Nic, who were now both in the kitchen witnessing all of this were laughing.

“Not funny,” I said to all of them.

“Very funny,” Nic said still laughing.

“But that was great,” Richard said to me later.

And it was, because for Emma to express awareness and interest in another person is a huge step.  In fact the entire dialogue was incredible as it did not center around her personal needs.  She was engaged in a playful interaction with another person, about something that had nothing to do with her.  This was a big leap forward.

This morning as Emma was getting dressed, I knelt down to straighten her dress.  She put her hands around my hair and said, “Mommy cut hair like this.”  Then she pushed her face up into mine and began giggling.

“That’s really short, Em.  How about I just get it trimmed. Maybe this much,” I showed her with my hands, cutting off about four inches.

“Okay,”  Emma said.

This afternoon I will go in to get my hair trimmed.  We shall see if Emma approves.

Emma looking at a book before going off to school this morning