Archive for September, 2007

Hair Braids and First Days


2007
09.04

So, my friend Stephanie came over on Labor Day and braided the kids' hair in honor of their first day of school…  The kids were pretty well-behaved for her, I felt a little guilty about not being able to do it myself, but I am worthless with my own hair, and this holds for my attempts at others' as well.  (Note: On my recent birthday, after having been on this planet for at least twenty-five years, I put my hair into an up-do without assistance for the first time ever.  It was passable.)  So, despite having actually purchased a book about hair braiding a year ago, and reading it twice, I still haven't worked out how to French-braid, or cornrow, or anything.  

But the kids had braids, which held up very well to a pretty rough-and-tumble picnic yesterday, and to their very wild sleeping (they started out the night with head-wraps, but woke up bareheaded), and to their first day of school.  Even to their hospital visit with their brand-new-just-born-yesterday Cousin Lola!  (Dillon was in love – he adores all babies and she was the tiniest he's ever seen, not to mention super-special because she's Uncle Nic and Aunt Beth's daughter.)

But tonight, Dillon's braids were looking pretty raggedy, so I took them out, and he had a beautiful lion-mane of crimped, 80's hair.  (Think the Bangles in the 'Walk Like An Egyptian" era.)  And Rose wanted her braids out if D's braids came out, but I was in the shower when Charles took them out, I asked how she looked, and he said, "Like Christopher Lloyd if he was a three-year-old black girl."

All in all, though, everyone's first day of school went quite well, though D told me, "First grade is really hard work."