Poor Boy Wonder… he can’t catch a break on his hair. Lately, more and more people have been referring to him in the feminine. It’s become a race between the two of us as to which of us can say “Boy!” first after another mistaken identity. Recently, we were in Danish Made sneaking a much earned treat after a grueling shopping trip to JoAnne’s (Have any of you Astorians been in JoAnne’s lately? MOBBED! Somebody sprinkled crafting dust on the population of our small town and every one of us was down there fighting over the grosgrain ribbon!). We were greeted with, “How are you ladies. . .” and we both shouted, “BOY!” before she could finish. Just for the record, those donuts at Danish Made are the bomb! But you didn’t hear it from me.
A year ago Boy Wonder decided he wanted to grow his spiffy short haircut out a bit. But I don’t think he ever meant to look this cherubic. It’s not his fault either. Sadly, both of his parents have been preoccupied with so much work that the whole beauty maintenance routines have been put on perma-hold. I’ve not had a haircut since June…but I’m also not a nine year old boy. To make matters worse, when his bangs get too long and begin to really frustrate him, I haul out my hair scissors and whack away. The result being his cute mopish haircut of last summer is taking on a distinct page-boy shape. Despite the name, page-boys are not masculine.
We are used to people thinking he looks like a girl—it’s been that way since the beginning. No amount of blue baby clothes then, or death-rocker sweatshirts now can convince people that those sweet cheeks belong to a boy. I’ve actually had people say, “But, he’s too pretty to be a boy!” When I look at him, I don’t get it. Because I see my kid for who he is, which is so much more than his gender. Fortunately, he seems to have a good sense of self and finds the confusion funny. However, his hair was getting too long even for him. Like most people in my family, our hair tends to do this cute little flip when it gets to a certain length… and for Boy Wonder it was just too much!
But it was Santa who finally got this kid’s parents motivated. Our local fire department does a food collection each year, where they outfit their rigs with lights and parade through the neighborhoods gathering up canned goods. This year, as the truck with Santa passed by our house Santa looked down and said, “Merry Christmas, little girl!” All three of us nearly hit the pavement for laughing.
Me: “So, you think it might be time to get a haircut, huh?”
Boy Wonder: “You think? Mom, it’s bad if even Santa can’t tell I’m a boy!”
IZ: “So much for Santa being omniscient! I’ll make the phone call tomorrow.”
That was a week ago. Yesterday, it was finally time for our appointments. All three of us filed in to submit our overgrown locks to the mastery of Kimberly. (Who also rocks, if you need a good haircut at a decent price! She’s amazing!) We arrived as overgrown shaggy messes and departed reborn, as boys! Ok, well—one of us did.
After his cut he looked at me with his trademarked twinkle and said, “I’m so keeping this haircut.” That’s 10 year old code for, “Don’t make me hurt you to get another appointment in a month.”
The problem with G is that he’s beautiful. Even as a baby with no hair people thought he was a girl just because he was so sweet and pretty. Regardless, this hair cut is way better. Let’s hope our new stylist is more consistent than the old one…
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I really like her… I think she does a great job listening to what you want. I did notice that BW had an easier time conversing with her as well. She seems genuine! 😀 ~W
He does have a pretty face, and I love his haircut. Hope it helps. There was a girl on Alison’s team who always got mistaken for a boy, so she grew out her hair.
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It’s hard to be on the fence in your looks as a kid… even if they are OK with who they are it can get old being called something you aren’t. So, I understand your daughter’s team-mate’s decision. There is only so much commenting on your appearance you really want as a young person. ~W
Love the new do! And girl your BOY is so handsome!! The last pic you had of him in this post made me think “Peter Pan”…dunno why those words just popped into my head. He’s gonna be a heartbreaker fo’ sho’…get ready 😉
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Thank you… he’s got a personality to match so he’s quite the handful. In fact, that’s typically the expression people use when meeting him for the first time. They look at me and say, “My, you’ve got quite the handful here!” Evidently, this is something he aspires to be, because those comments just send him into happiness mode on overdrive. 😀 ~W
I second Bug on the heartbreaking bit. Teach him to sing…he’d be an instant teen idol.
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*Snort* Bite your tongue, Michelle. Heh…that’s actually funny because he told be before he got his haircut he didn’t want to come out looking like a “rockstar.” Apparently, he and his best buddy have opted for what they call “classic” hairstyles. Don’t ask. 😀 ~W
He looks AWESOME!
Let’s keep the girls away from him for a bit, eh???
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At the moment, he’s perfectly happy to stay away from girls. Let’s hope it lasts. ~W
It’s great!
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Thanks! 😀 ~W
We went through the same thing here. With the added bonus of ” I can’t get a haircut because everyone will say something about it now. I have to wait until summer.” ” what will they say Jake?” ” Oh, Like ‘nice haircut’ and stuff.” ( ?????)
I was always called “son” when I had the page boy look in the 70’s too..
Funny.
He looks good though. Handsome!
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Oh… see that explains a few things. His best buddy came over last night. Not ONE word about his hair and he was FINE with that! It actually took my girlfriend saying to him, “oh, nice haircut!” last night for the 10 year olds to notice. There must be some unwritten rule. 😀
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And I adore your blog, btw! 😀 ~W
What a handsome little prince! Great cut…
I have spent so much time and money in Joanne’s in the last several weeks that I think I have my own coffee cup in their break room now….
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Thank you! And the person I can’t keep out of Joanne’s is my kid. Every day he says, “I need you to run a little errand with me.” That’s code for, “I need more loot from Joanne’s.” In fact, I have to go today to pick up stocking stuffers. So—whatcha’ making, Paula, with all that stuff from Joanne’s? 😀 ~W
what a mischievous smile and twinkling eyes! 🙂
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Yeah, he’s a regular Kaa with those eyes! “trust in me. . . .” 😀 ~W