When Barrett was born, the very first thing that was said about him was, "Wow! He's got a full head of blonde hair." We were surprised and delighted by how distinctive he looked - all the nurses said that they had never seen such a full head of blonde hair before. I felt like he was special, somehow, because of it; and I remember the day we got home from the hospital, I found the passages in Judges about Samson.
An angel of the Lord appeared to Samson's mother and told her, "you shall conceive and give birth to a son, and no razor shall come upon his head" 13:5. And indeed, "the woman gave birth to a son and named him Samson; and the child grew up and the Lord blessed him" 13:24.
Samson had preternatural strength, and the ability to defeat any enemy that came against him, but he revealed to Delilah: "A razor has never come on my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If I am shaved, then my strength will leave me and I will become weak and be like any other man" 16:17.
Delilah betrayed Samson, and his strength was taken from him . . . Today, I betrayed Barrett.
I don't know what I was thinking. I've been trimming his hair here and there for months, but the goal has always been to keep it looking the same - I trim a little off the back and sides to avoid a mullet, and a little off the front when it gets in his eyes. The top had never been cut, and say what you will, he's always been the most adorably distinctive little boy. But this morning, for some reason, I thought that I should use the clippers - I was thinking that because he's so small, the longest guard would actually leave his hair fairly long. But of course, I'm an idiot and that was ridiculous - regardless of what guard is used, clippers are for SHAVING your head. He's still my precious Barrett, so handsome and sweet, but I fear that I've made him "like any other man."
The worst part of the experience for me was having to finish after I realized what I was doing. Like having to shoot an animal after you've accidentally struck it with your car. After the first swipe of the clippers, I could see that it was much, much too short, but I couldn't just leave a single shaved patch down the center of his head. My mom and Matt each got a taste of how upset I was. I had to stop half-way through because I was heaving with sobs. It took me nearly 20 minutes to pull myself together and finish the job.
So, without further ado...
5 comments:
1st Corinthians 11:14.."Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him...." Barrett looks adorable! Anxious to be with him tomorrow. Love you all so much!
On the bright side...I can no longer compare his hair to Adam Lambert. Which I think annoyed Matt a tad. Don't worry, Angie. Barrett is adorable no matter how he has his hair.
oh hes so cute! it just looks like you trimmed his bangs. he still has way more hair than most babies!!
it's funny that you posted that today because this morning i was thinking about when i cut my hair in our bathroom in boston and i looked exactly like ramona quimby age 8. sometimes you just can't put down the scissors!
I agree with the others. He's adorable no matter how much hair he has; and the great thing about hair is that if you don't like it, it grows back. Besides the thing that makes Barrett our precious little guy comes from within. Cut yourself some slack, Angie (did you like the tonsorial metaphor?).
I'm laughing so hard because we DID THE EXACT SAME THING. Only it was so much worse. I'm sending you pictures right now so you feel better.
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