My ordinary boy

I want to tell you about my boy. He has an ordinary name - Glenn. But we never call him that. He goes by Turtle which fits him much better.

He's no ordinary boy. He loves to dress up in his sister's dresses, he loves to use their underpants as a "foofy" comfort item while he sucks his thumb, he loves to play with their ponies just as much as his cars and weapons, he's extremely affectionate and loves to snuggle and say, "I love you" many times a day, he loves Dora the explorer and Strawberry shortcake, he loves dancing and singing and winning us all over with his charm.

And this was his hair.



It really suited his personality. Easy going, non stereotypical, soft and flowing, uber natural.

But people kept calling him a her. Or a she. He may not be stereotypical boy but he is certainly all boy. Maybe not like your boy or your neighbor's boy, because he is neither of those. He is Turtle. A boy Turtle. I could tolerate the gender confusions well enough, but his hair was constantly in his eyes and he hated having it brushed. He'd cry and scream.

So we decided the time had come to have his hair cut for the first time. We took him to our favorite cost effective barber shop and ask the lady to make it short at the back but keep the length at the front. She responded by talking aggressively for about 5 minutes in Chinese with her colleagues while Rene and I smiled nervously and gulped heavily and hoped for the best as she started snipping off his beautiful baby locks. He sat perfectly still the whole time in his chair, drowning in the big protective cover, he was just a little baby face poking out of a mass of black cover and rejected snips of beautiful white, soft hair. I think he rather enjoyed the pampering.

She got his hair looking *just* how I wanted it. A surfer dude sort of style - long at the front and short at the back. I gave lots of praise and was ready to welcome him back into my arms, but she just kept snipping! And snipping and snipping and my heart about stopped. I made sure to say about another 3 times that I want to keep length in the front. One time she responded with, "Is he girl or boy? Well then, I cut it boy".

I was hovering over him and biting my nails and was about ready to just pull the lady off of him and throw her scissors to the other side of the room. I kept looking to Rene for support but...well...Turtle's easy going attitude definitely comes from his Daddy. Rene was just smiling and admiring the pretty pattern of the wall tiles.

Eventually she asked me, "will I cut more?" and I enthusiastically pleaded with her not to! So she released her captive and I swept up this tiny boy who now seemed like a stranger. I couldn't stop staring at him for the rest of the day. What bothers me most is he looks like any ordinary boy. Just another American kid. No distinguishing factor. And that really troubled me.

But I've come to realize that just because his appearance is one of any ordinary boy, he is still 100% Turtle. He's still completely charming even if his hair doesn't represent it. He's still quirky and endearing, just like his Dad. And yes, I intend to let it grow! I must admit, he wears this ordinary hairstyle much cuter than most ordinary boys do. :)

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