Pony Up Part 2: Cliché Edition

This post is from Feburary 20, 2015. The 2019 update is at the bottom.

Last week the Des Moines Register ran a few photos of Char's preschool class.

I thought it was pretty neat to see her in the paper, but I felt guilty that her hair was all over the place. 

That's because most weekday mornings Daphne's off to work before 6:30, so I'm the one that does Char's hair. And I'm not very good at it. 

I kinda hate brushing her hair; it's stressful. After rolling around the bed all night, her hair is full of tangles, and Char yells and cries when I have to pull the brush through them. After the fifth scream I used to threaten her with a pixie cut. But that just makes the screaming turn into crying, and that really doesn't accomplish anything does it? 

Hair detangler spray is much more useful. 

I don't hate the brushing anymore, but by the time I get her hair smooth and straight I'm ready to get her coat on and take her to daycare.

But because of that photo, I've stepped up my game and moved onto making pony tails.

I didn't tell her the first time I put her hair in a pony tail. And she didn't notice it until we were in the bathroom brushing her teeth. Char caught a glimpse in the mirror, turned her head, and flipped it up with the back of her hand, "Nice pony tail, Dad. You did a good job!"

It's cool when your efforts are recognized.

Update:

Daphne does Char's hair most of the time, but I pitch in on jazz band mornings. I've been putting a "pony" in Charlotte's hair for almost five years.   

This morning she came downstairs with a pony that she had put in all by herself.

Both Daphne and I brightly praised Charlotte, but I know I frowned slightly as I took this picture. I used to get anxious when I had to comb her hair, and now my first thought was, I don't get to put in ponies anymore?

I know it's a parental cliché. We've all heard people say how quickly their kids grow up. And even if their children are grown, they say that about other kids, so then they can talk about theirs. I bet parents have been saying this for centuries.

Still, I didn't think a simple hair style would make me tear up a little when I wrote about it.