Have you torn into the kids’ Easter baskets yet? I set aside a secret backstash for myself, although I have to admit that this year I was far more excited about what the bunny brought than my daughter was. She smiled benignly at me and then asked if she could dye a pink streak in her hair. (She’s always one hop ahead of me.)
I have a basket of goodies for you to tear into:
To have a 40-minute gabfest with me, open this. Or, download it onto your iPod and listen to me laugh all during your 3-mile run.
To win a free signed copy of Hand Wash Cold, open this. You have until Friday to win, so if I were you I’d leave a long trail and keep coming back for a taste!
To choose one thing to read besides Hand Wash Cold, open this. I mean every word of what’s written.
To find the motivation to start this week’s laundry, open this. And share it too. Those pages can use some cooler heads.
To make sure you’re in on all the goodness I’ll be sharing at the next Mother’s Plunge Retreat on Sat., May 22 in the Bay Area, open this and register. It’s about time to load up your eggs in one basket. The Mercy Center sisters need an early count on the chickens, and remember, you need not be a mother to come!
To give me an idea of how to handle the pink hair thing, please leave a comment with your parental wisdom!
Thanks for all the linkey goodness.
And as for the hair, I remember (back when my daughter was still in public school) a conversation with a bunch of moms, when they were discussing a kid who’d been sent home because he’d come to school with green hair. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would have a problem with it, but was informed by one of the mom’s that it was ‘distracting.’ I pointed out that many kids with perfectly ordinary hair were very much distracting all on their own. I didn’t point out that her child, in particular, was one of them.
Comment by Wendy — April 5, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
Say yes to pink hair. There are so many “nos” we have to say, and so many more we only _think_ we have to say. Why shouldn’t she dye a pink streak? The great thing about hair is that it grows. The only condition should be this: if she decides she hates it, she has only herself to blame.
Comment by MomVee — April 5, 2010 @ 3:57 pm
I’d let her dye it. After all it’s only hair as you pointed out when you shaved yours off to enter the Zen priesthood.
Comment by J. Andy Lambert — April 5, 2010 @ 4:26 pm
Washable Crayola markers – useful temporary hair colour changers! Stock answer here is “When you have the money to pay for it”!
Comment by Jill Hamilton — April 5, 2010 @ 5:00 pm
Spring seems the best time to have pink hair LOL! I’d let her do it 🙂
Comment by Barbara H — April 5, 2010 @ 5:01 pm
yes on the pink hair! how fun. but how do you feel about nose piercings? that would be thinking one step ahead of her. but is that taking yourself out of the present moment, worrying about the future? on the other hand, don’t parents have to sometimes do that? maybe i’m overthinking…glad mine are 1 and 3 and i just have to anticipate snacks and juice for the time being.
Comment by Shelby — April 5, 2010 @ 6:47 pm
Yes, Shelby, you answered your own question. The only nose I can tend to is the one on my face. If I see that, I’ve pierced through my own doubt and confusion!
Comment by Karen Maezen Miller — April 5, 2010 @ 6:55 pm
I’d love to do something about Hand Wash Cold on my site – but my copy hasn’t arrived yet. When it gets here, would you do an interview?
Comment by Marianne — April 5, 2010 @ 10:38 pm
Yes, yes, yes to pink hair! Even with permanent dye, it’s not forever. I think it’s a great way to affirm to her that your trust her choices about her body. As my son always reminds me, “Mama, it is MY body.”
Piercings & tattoos have to wait until older in our family. It does leave a permanent mark (even if small) and carries more risk (even if small). But in a house where mama has dreads and papa a pierced nose and ear, I suspect these topics will come up well before my husband and I have figured out exactly what qualifies as “older”. 😉
Let us know what you decide to do!
Comment by Lisa — April 5, 2010 @ 10:53 pm
Oh! We only live once… I say YES to a pink streak. How wonderful that she wants to express herself this way 😉 My boys “dress up” all. the. time. They wear the weirdest stuff. Sometimes I cringe when I walk them to school. But they get to express themselves through their wardrobe and I say Yea! I never did anything like that when I was little. **wink wink** if I remember correctly I wore my slip with tights and pink rain boots, everywhere.
Go with the pink streak. It will probably be cute!
Comment by Mindy — April 5, 2010 @ 11:54 pm
My daughter, Asia, currently has multiple pink streaks. I love it. I think she looks like one of the anime characters she so loves to draw… and everywhere we go little tiny girls (the two to six crowd) squeal with joy, “Pink hair!”
Comment by Mani — April 6, 2010 @ 4:26 am
If it were here – it would be yes, but…. you might want to wait until school is out. We have a “natural colored hair” rule in our dress code – so I would have to explain if she chose to do it now, she would miss all the fun things the last couple of months of school holds. For us, that would sway the decision. If not, I might have to insist upon waiting. Then if the request reappeared – I would consider some of the temporary means and let her go for it. There are better things to fight about than hair…. Hair and Hormones
Comment by Renae C — April 6, 2010 @ 7:21 am
Well, as someone who has “kids” who are now 20 and almost 23 years old, my husband and I have maintained a consistent approach on self expression with regards to make-up/hair/piercings/tatoos. So, I believe what you do now does impact future decisions & discussions on said self expression. Aren’t my kids thankful now that tatoos were something they could do when they moved out if that’s what they wanted, but as long as they were living in our house the rule was no tatoos. They are so happy now that we were strong about that. As far as the pink stripe goes? I think your daughter is testing you right now. Looking for guidance. Perhaps I would let her do it in the summer, but during the school year, no dice.
Comment by Karin — April 6, 2010 @ 3:20 pm
Try pink hair extensions!! It won’t damage her hair with chemicals and it is easiy removed. Here is a website that has hair extensions for Breast Cancer, but during the months of Sept. & Oct.: http://www.pinkhairforhope.com/home.php
Here is another site with lots of other clip-on colors in case she gets bored with pink: http://hairextensions.com/home.php?cat=43
Comment by Judy Johnson — April 6, 2010 @ 6:52 pm
Good news – it’s only hair. We drew the line at permanent alterations (multiple piercings, tattoos, etc). She’s experimenting with who she is and who she wants to be. I say let her do it – it only looks good on someone her age!
Comment by Christine — April 6, 2010 @ 9:31 pm
As a 7th grader in Catholic school, where our uniform code was pretty rigorous, I felt a burning need to show a little of my rock and roll side. My friend and I got some manic panic blue hair dye and did a streak. I was still a straight A student, it just felt good to show a little color 😉 I’m glad my parents felt sure enough about who I was to feel OK about it at the time. Maybe it helped me not to have to do more extreme things when I was “old enough” to make those choices on my own. (I turned out a buddhist earth mother type – and they never once blamed it on the hair dye incident!)
In other words, I vote yes to pink streak.
Comment by Alyssa — April 6, 2010 @ 11:00 pm
It’s only hair.
Comment by Gemma — April 8, 2010 @ 10:14 pm
Thanks for all the sage advice on the hair. I would allow it, except she hasn’t said a word about it again. She did, however, ask to go to the drug store to get a “bumpits” to wear on Crazy Hair Day. That one was easy.
Comment by Karen Maezen Miller — April 8, 2010 @ 10:17 pm