My Momma has cut my family’s hair since way before she ever had all the degrees, licenses, awards, and certifications.

Momma cutting Bing's (age 3) bangs with the kitchen scissors...
Confession Time: There are days that I only bother to wash and style my own nappy hair just because I know that I’m going to see my Momma… if it looks bad, I know I’m going to get “the look” and “the speech”. She will reach out, pat my ‘fro disapprovingly, give a dramatic eyeroll, and launch into a tirade that I could repeat word for word backwards.
Lately, she’s been begging me to let her “shape up” Ro’s wispy little baby mullet. I’ve stubbornly refused to let her touch his precious locks for months, but something came over me yesterday and I finally relented.
A lump rose in my throat, but instead of letting myself sob with each snip, I did what I usually do and let my camera take over.
He was SO well-behaved. I grew up watching my mom work her ninja magic on thrashing, wiggling, screaming, biting little children. She’s never cut a child, no matter how horribly they behaved in her chair, although she often came home from work with her own fingers and knuckles bandaged. So, I was pretty relieved that my own little monkey was not causing her any trouble.
He sat perfectly still, watching my brother Brad (or “Uncle Blue” to Rowan) entertain him with funny faces and peekaboo games. The only time he moved was at the end to look at himself in the mirror, as his Mamie as she spiked his hair with gel.






Let’s just hope that RoBot isn’t a man-diva like his Uncle Blue (whose hair always has to be PERFECT or his life is OVER), or a dirty-smelly-hippie like me, but somewhere in between…
his nerdy-preppy-still-looks-like-a-little-boy-when-he-lets-his bangs-grow Daddy?
Off to hide my ‘fro in a hat,
Bing
Ninja Thought of the Day:
“Bing, your great grandma would not even check the mail or take out the trash without lipstick and earrings on. So in honor of her, you have to at least ACT like a girl a few days a year.”
~Bing’s Momma




































