Father's Day Take II

"What's wrong?" I was on my way through the house when I noticed Max hunched over and looking ever so sad.

"Mom just scheduled me for a haircut," came the tearful voice as he stood and wrapped his arms around me in a desperation move,... as if a I were the one to pull Excalibur from the stone.

This was my opening I had waited for ... I casually mentioned, "Well, I suppose I could cut your hair?"

"Would YOU?!" His posture transformed immediately from hopeless, to 'well, my dad couldn't be that bad at cutting hair.'


The only thing left to do was to inform Kim. This would be comparable to getting a prisoner out of Alcatraz (it's been done once, but many who tried before had failed miserably). "So,... Max feels pretty bad about his impending haircut," I didn't even get a chance to finish my sentence.

"He'll be just fine. He just doesn't want a haircut, that's all," spoken like a true mother.

"Well, as I was saying... he wants me to cut it," I had positioned myself in another room when I broke the news, because if looks could do damage, hers would have flattened me.

"He did not," I could catch a glint of disbelief in her voice - the kind you get after someone picks your exact card out of a pile that you had randomly placed it.

(Max entered the room at just the right moment) "What are you doing?" an innocent question from a child of eight.

"Did you tell tell dad that he could cut your hair?" Kim was not messing around and got right to it.

"Yea. He will cut it just the way I want it and besides, we'll save money on a haircut," I was still deflecting looks by staying in the other room, but I could hear the upbeat spirit of a boy who was about to entrust sharp cutting instruments in to the hands of 'DAD'.

I've been hacking away at my hair for the past year or so and with each trim (successful and not so successful), I proudly announce two things throughout the household: 1.) Your mother won't leave me over a bad haircut, and 2.) Just saved myself a little cash.

So you can see how proud I was that my 'cheapness' is rubbing off onto my children. Kim, on the other hand, not so proud. I heard footsteps approaching my vicinity and felt the need to move, but stood paralyzed like any good extra in a horror flick. "You put him up to this," her voice sounded a bit accusatory.

"Nope. He just recognized talent," it's up to me to come through in the clutch now. I don't pretend to fix cars or solve world problems, but this,... I think I can do THIS! If all goes well, tomorrow it shall be revealed. If it doesn't go well, this may be my last post for a while as I heal.