It all began when I was about to start primary school for the first time, (I was about 5 at the time), mum wanted me to look respectable and tidy for it, so I guess that’s why she did what she did to me…………..

It was the day before my primary school started for the new year, and my mum was just brushing it, getting me ready for my bath, it was all tangled and knotted (it was so long, I could sit on it!)
Mum was getting more and more angry with it and she finally said:

`Really Christine darling, I think your hair is just too long now to look after properly and much too long to go to school with, so I think that I’m going to give it a good cut, so it’s easier to look after and go to primary school with’.

I just sat there, listening to her and I said:
`Oh mum! I like my hair long and I really don’t want it to be cut!’
`Sweetheart, it’s the only way!’ mum said patiently, I just looked at her then sighed and nodded.
`Ok mum, if it’ll make it easier for you, I’ll have it cut however you want me to’.
`Good Girl!’ mum said, hugging me,
`You’ll look nice and pretty I promise you! Now I’ll just fetch the scissors then we’ll begin Ok honey?’ mum said as she pulled out a chair for me to sit on while she cut my hair.
`Yes mum!’ I said, as I went and sat on the seat and waited for her.

Presently mum came back with not just the scissors, but a towel to put around my shoulders while she cut my hair, so it wouldn’t fall on my clothes as it was cut off. She put the towel around my shoulders, lifted my long hair up from underneath, then said:

`Ok sweetie, I’ll start now Ok?’ mum asked.
I wasn’t Ok, in fact I didn’t want it cut at all, but I nodded silently, anyway as she was my mum after all, and she knew what she was doing, didn’t she? Then mum began my haircut………

First, she brushed my long strawberry blonde hair all the way through (STILL having to detangle it as she did so), then she came to the front of me and made a perfect centre parting in my hair, then she combed my long fringe (which hadn’t been cut in a while-so it was very long and messy, reaching to about nose level), then mum said:

`Christine sweetie, first I’m going to cut off this untidy fringe to a neater length Ok?’
At this point, I was so nervous that I couldn’t speak, so I just nodded. Then mum combed my fringe straight down then began to cut it to slightly above my eyebrows:

`Snip, snip, snip, snip!’ the scissors went, this part wasn’t so bad as I was used to my fringe being cut that length when it was trimmed. Mum then began to cut straight across my fringe, leaving it all slightly above my eyebrows.

`Snip, snip, snip, snip!’
`Snip, snip, snip, snip!’

In no time, my fringe was done and it looked Ok on me I guess, then came the bad part……..

Mum brushed my long hair again for the last time, looked at me and said:

`Now love, I need you to be very brave now Ok?’ Mum said kindly.
`Ok mum!’ I replied nervously as I had no idea how short she was planning on cutting it, I soon found out though…….

Mum then picked up the scissors, and starting at the back of me, she combed out a section and when she stopped combing my hair, I shut my eyes tight as I knew what was about to happen, mum then inserted the scissors into my hair (at about chin length from what the height of the scissors in the back were telling me!) then closed the blades:

`SNIP, SNIP, SNIP, SNIP!!’ this time, the scissors seemed louder as they were cutting through longer and thicker hair.
I couldn’t help it, but I began to cry as it was so high up and short!!

`Hush love, you’ll look lovely when I’ve finished with you!’ Mum said, trying to comfort me, it didn’t work, so I cried some more with my mum comforting me and eventually I stopped it, so mum could then continue cutting it.
Mum sectioned off another piece of hair then began slicing through that too!

`Snip, snip, snip, snip!’, I was now drained of tears, so I now just sat there as she did this, tears still silently flowing from my cheeks.

Mum sectioned off another section, and then repeated this process:
`Snip, snip, snip, snip!’ I now could swear that my hair was up to my ears! I couldn’t even imagine how I looked now!

After about 10 more minutes of cutting, she finally finished my hair and brushed it, then she put one of my hairbands in my hair (purple) and after doing this, she handed me the hand mirror that had been on the table and said:

`There! My pretty little girl back!’
She smiled at me while she said this. I took one look in the mirror and found that it was as short as I’d dreaded (chin length), then I started crying again! I just ran up to my room and wouldn’t come out for at least 2 hours, when I eventually did, I apologized to mum and said that she hadn’t cut it that bad and I was just so upset at having over 2 foot of hair chopped off (at once!), she said not to worry and she ran my bath and gave me a bath and washed my hair for me and then dried it with the hairdryer.

Well, the next day I went to school and nobody laughed at me, instead I made lots of friends and enjoyed it a lot. To make things better, mum had put my hair in a short half up half down ponytail, so that it looked less boyish. After this incident, mum let me grow my hair back, just not as long and untidy as it was before (the longest it grew was about to the small of my back-shorter than the butt length hair I’d had before!) but I didn’t mind this as even this length was longer than my friends!!

THE END