times 3

ok, so now that you've seen p's first haircut snaps i can tell you the rest of the story.

when we walked into the salon the owner and head stylist pulled me to the side and asked if there was any way she could cut delaney's hair.  d is a wee bit hair challenged at this point in time.  her hair is fine and quite thin.  it is a work in progress but our progress was slightly imposed upon at the moment d decided that she wanted to grow her hair out like repunzel.  um...  ok.  me trying to explain to a three year old that you have to cut in order to grow wasn't quite as successful as i had hoped it would be.  and so d declared that she was not in fact EVER going to cut her hair again.  she would dance around her room in her repunzel wig and imagine the day that her real hair reached its goal. 

anywho- when offered with help in getting d into the haircut chair, i happily accepted.  although i must admit i had some momma guilt.  you see here we were at p's first haircut and somehow the moment wasn't going to be quite as pure.  instead of having something being about her with both of her sisters watching, it was turning into a shared moment. 

but d REALLY needed a haircut.

within moments of d being offered a cut, she was climbing up into the chair.  i have no idea what the stylist offered her but whatever it was it worked.  before i could turn around another stylist offered to do a special braid and some curls in e's hair so that she wouldn't be left out. 

yikes.  somehow a moment that was for p wasn't that at all.  not in any way.  it was three girls getting styled and trimmed and glitterized (seriously, they all still have traces of glitter on their scalps). 

it saddened me for a few minutes and then i went on with the business of tending to the girls.  when we left the salon, scott made them all pose outside together (above picture).

it's funny.  when i went back and looked at my photographs to post p's first haircut, i fell in love with this picture of my three girls.  you see, here i was, trying to create a moment for p.  that's a good thing.  knowing the woes of third child (my baby book says that i potty trained at 5 and ate solid food at 2...  i have a complex here people), i wanted to carve out a moment that was all hers.  however, when i looked at that picture of the three of them, i realized that there will be a lifetime of moments that are all hers.  as people, we tend to do that rather naturally.  we can take a moment and turn it into a "me moment" in the blink of an eye.  but as the mom of these three little ladies, i have a responsibility to help them create sister moments.  i can empower them to share.  i can train them to seek moments where they can celebrate one another rather than just themselves.  i don't know how that translates in each of their lives, but i sure hope it evolves into women who seek to be in relationship with one another.  i hope it promotes a mentality that lifts others up rather than one that longs to be at the top themselves.  i pray that they learn the value of going deeper with people and coming alongside others.  i desire that they engage in community and embrace people. 

i know that is a long stretch from sharing a first haircut day.  but all movements have to start somewhere.  this is the movement i hope i am starting for them and i am thankful for a shared experience to help me really see the value in promoting the "sisterhood" rather than promoting the "me".

 

just look at their faces.  in that shared moment, each one shines just as they are.  their uniqueness that is displayed in their expressions contribute to the beauty of the picture as a whole.