The Hair

When we first moved to Seattle, Hudson's hair was in dire need of cutting. So, I simply looked online for the best place to go for a haircut in Queen Anne, and learned that according to Yelp, The Shop was the place to go. So, off we went. As it turns out, The Shop is actually a barber shop, so I'm not sure it was the best choice for a say, stylish cut, but I thought, how bad can it be?

Pretty bad, apparently. Hudson came out looking like this:

I'm not sure how or why he ended up with a buzz-cut, but he did. It didn't bother me a whole lot at first, I mean, it's about as low maintenance as you can possibly get, and in my own biased opinion, he always looks cute. As it started growing, however, I admit, it started looking a little bit funny, sticking up a little in the back and laying down flat in the front. I figured, ah, he's a kid, no one will care. 

Boy, was I WRONG.

He's 3. Yeah, you already know that, but I felt the need to remind you because it's quite shocking to me to learn that kids picking on kids begins at age 3. I learned this last week from another one of the moms that the kids in Hudson's class were teasing him about his hair, calling him HAIRHEAD instead of Hudson. When she shared this with me I tried to hold back my emotion, though my heart was pounding and I was shaking a little bit at the utter thought that I'd just sent my child into a class room full of kids making fun of him. My instinct was to run in, grab him and take him home with me, but I didn't. 

On the way home I got more and more upset, thinking about how the whole thing was my fault for taking him to that stupid barber shop to get his haircut. What was I thinking?  My sweet, innocent little boy is being picked on and it's all my fault. So, I did the obvious things-

1. Cried

2. Called the school

3. Bought him some hair products ASAP.

4. Styled him up.

Ta-da! The finished product. Scott thinks he has "boy band" potential, what do you think?

I realize that even though I'd honestly like to just wrap both of my children in bubble wrap so they never have to experience hurt, it's just not realistic. Hurt is going to happen, both physically and emotionally, and although it's our maternal instinct to protect our children from harms way it's not possible to protect them from everything. Hurt is a part of life, part of the human experience. I get all of that, but I don't have to like it. To think of other kids picking on your child (AT AGE 3!!) is just unbearable and I know as he gets older these things only get worse. I better toughen up.

I'm not sure Hudson really grasps that they're teasing him. At age 3 can you really understand that concept? I don't know. For now, we're talking a lot about friends and being kind to others and the other things that are important (I think) to a 3 year old. He's probably wondering why I'm suddenly hugging him more than usual, and telling him how much he's loved. I don't want there to be any doubt, that he is loved, no matter what the kids at school think about his hair. I personally think he's adorable and oh, do I love him so, bad haircut and all.