When the boys were very small, I used to cut their hair every 3 - 4 weeks with the hair clipper on a number 4 setting. It was the easiest to way to keep 3 little boys looking neat. There was a ritual where all of them would line up in the kitchen and one by one I would put the clipper through their hair from their foreheads right through to the nape of their necks. They had excellent memories and would very quickly respond with "I was first last time...." when called upon. But after 30 minutes they would walk out of the kitchen cleanly shaven and I would have enough hair on the floor to make up a wig.
And so it happened that it was Divan's turn to be first.... and at barely 3 years of age, he climbed on the chair and looked at me with such trust in his eyes. I leaned over, picked up the clipper, snapped the comb onto it and started pushing it through from his forehead........ but when I reach about 4 cm in, I realised that there was almost nothing left on his head! I stopped the clipper and looked at the comb - No. 2!! When I start panicking, I start giggling. "Mommy, what's wrong?" Divan asked. "Nothing, my boy, I'm just happy....." What could I do? I completed the job - with the No. 2. When finished, Divan felt over his head with his hand and slowly turned to me. "I want to see....."
Our bathroom mirror was mounted high on the wall, so I picked him up and held him on my hip. He looked into the mirror, felt his head again and then turned to me: "Mommy, how could you?" he said in such a sad voice. I immediately burst into tears and put him down on the floor. I slowly walked back into the kitchen. Dylan looked at me and said "Dennie goes next!" Dennie calmly sat down and said to me "Mom, cut my hair on the same No. as Divan's." then he turned to Divan and said, "You see, I'm going to look just like you. We will be like twins!" I cut Dennie's hair on the No. 2, crying all the time.
I never felt that Divan ever had the same confidence in me. I would cut his hair, and halfway through he would check in the mirror.... just to make sure.
Last night I cut his hair because school started again today. He put everything in the kitchen that I would need (no clipper) and I started combing through his hair.
"This is most probably the last time I cut your hair my boy." I said.
"Why?" he answered.
"Because you are almost finished with school and won't need another hair cut soon."
"Well, no one else is going to touch my hair, and I'm not going to grow it till it reaches the floor, so of course you are going to cut it......"
It's been 14 years - and I guess he's regained his trust in my hair cutting capabilities.
