The Emergency that Wasn't

Over the years I have impressed others with my ability to braid Michaela's hair. I have been doing this since she was seven so I am actually quite good at it. It is funny how people react to me when they first find out that I can do a French Braid. Guys in particular will react to me as if I am some sort of famous magician making the elephant disappear on stage. I always get the "You can do what? Wow! How do you do that". I have to laugh because braiding hair is like riding a bike. Once you get it down you don't forget it.

Well my days of braiding hair are coming to an end. At the urging of her good friend Sienna, Michaela made the decision to get her first perm. She has researched it extensively. Looked at her options and even printed pictures of perms she liked and those that she disliked. Finally the decision was made and off we went to her scheduled appointment. I As much as I loved to braid her hair I was not about to sit with her for two hours and read the latest gossip magazines. That duty fell upon Sienna who planted the seed.

I have to say that I was really not sure what to expect. All that I kept seeing in my mind were visions of Shirley Temple Being the supportive father that I am I assured her that no matter what, I was sure it would look great. Well two hours later I headed back to see how it all turned out. I prayed that she was going to be happy with the new look. When I first saw her I was amazed. The perm turned out perfectly. She looked so beautiful and was so, so excited. Sienna was taking pictures on the cell phone, and within an hour every friend in the world was receiving pictures of the new look. Before we left Michaela got her final instructions from the stylist and we set off for home with my new daughter. That night as Michaela left for her bedroom I could see that a smile on her face that stretched from ear to ear. She could not wait for everyone to her at school the next day. I pictured her arriving at the car line, getting out to the red carpet and flash bulbs clicking as she flipped her hair around with confidence. That was until the world came crashing down the next morning.

It was 6:15 a.m. and instead of hearing a happy voice saying "Good morning Dad can we leave for school now" all that I heard were tears coming down her face. "Oh, oh this isn't going to be good" I thought. Michaela walked into the office, and said "I ruined it Dad, my perm fell out". I looked at her and sure enough the bouncy curls of last night had turned into slow waves of the morning. "Michaela what happened baby" I asked. "I brushed my hair out and I ruined everything" she said. What do the heck do now I thought? I wanted to say to her "Were you suppose to brush it out" "Didn't you follow the instructions" "What the hell were you thinking" but I didn't. All I knew was that WE had an emergency and Ineeded to come up with a solution quick. I told her that we could always go back into the stylist and get it redone if need be. Fortunately I had her cell phone, but I was not about to call her at 6:15 no matter what the emergency. Think Bill what do you tell her to say to her friends? Surely they will be waitng for the grand arrival? The only thing that I could think of was, tell them that the perm didn't take. I don't know if that can actually happen but I swear I have heard it somewhere in my past. Maybe from one of my grandmothers who knows. As much as I had hoped that this would work it didn't seem to satisfy Michaela. All I could do was call the stylist, rebook the appointment, and then text Michaela during her break at school for when we are rebooked.

Well two hours later, and three texts rom Michaela asking what was happening, I was able to get through to the stylist. When I told her what happened and how we were in panic mode, she just laughed. There was really not a problem. All that Michaela needed to do was get her hair wet and then scrunch it up. The perm of last night would return in no time. Whew!!! That was close. I sent Michaela a text notifying her of our false alarm. Her text back to me was just a series of smiley faces. Thank God another emergency adverted.

I have to say that I am looking forward to seeing Michaela smile again tonight but I will miss braiding her hair. Hairstyles evolve, parenting evolves and children evolve. I am just glad that the emergency thatwasn't evolved into a lesson of style and grace for both of us.