Firsts

Firsts are something we, as humans track in many ways.  Some firsts we celebrate as they come with enthusiasm, such as a baby's first step, or first word, and a child's first loose tooth.  Some we look forward to for years with anxious anticipation:  a first kiss, first time living away from home, or first love.  Some firsts we dread, knowing it's hard to avoid a first cavity, or the first funeral of a loved one.  Some, we mark as they come, whether we like it or not:  The first day of school, the first day of a new season or new year.  Some firsts, we pursue with great energy, hard work and even passion such as a college degree or first house.  Some firsts bring mixed emotion combining exciting new things with new responsibility:  A first car, first job, first child.  Many firsts come about in unexpected ways and at unexpected times.

Such was the case this morning at our house.  Katie received her first haircut under unusual circumstances.  Let's be clear that her hair did not in itself require cutting.  And let's quickly let her siblings off the hook and clarify that none of them were responsible for the shortened follicles.  Instead, her first haircut was combined with another first - her first good gash. 

Katie fell against something this morning that produced a rather impressive cut on her head.  The first thought in a mother's head is "STITCHES".  Let's be honest, though, I didn't have time for stitches this morning.  So I stepped back to reconsider.  The gash, though a head wound, stopped bleeding with remarkable speed.  It was also in the middle of her hair, so any unsightly scar would be, well, un-sight-ly.  A quick assessment of my first aid training told me the only real concern would be to prevent infection while it healed.  The hair the wound was nestled in posed a slight problem for both a butterfly bandage to pull the skin back together as well as for the bandage to keep everything clean.  This is where the haircut came in. 

To clear enough space for everything sticky to have something to stick to, my little girl would have to have a quarter of her head shaved - from on ear to the crown and from the crown to her forehead.  It was at this point that I realized I would eventually have to repair the unevenness of her hair.  It seemed silly to postpone the inevitable, so off came the rest of her hair as well.  And so it is that this particular first has arrived at least two years sooner than anticipated.  This is how, within a matter of minutes, this girl:

was transformed to this:

Happy Valentine's Day!  : )