I suppose it’s inevitable. Every kid decides to cut his or her own hair eventually, right? It’s a part of growing up.

On Wednesday evening, I was in the bedroom with Harbour and chatting with my mother on the phone. River was sitting quietly in the hallway, happily cutting up her latest drawing to make a puzzle (she’s a DIYer after my own heart). When I walked into the hallway, I saw her sitting there cutting away, surrounded by tiny pieces of paper. And hair.

I admit, I may have shrieked. I may have even hollered. River calmly looked at me and told me to “stop acting like a wild dog”. Really? Pretty sassy coming from a girl who just cut her own hair.

I wasn’t really angry. Deep down, I’m a bit peeved because we *just* finished growing her bangs out and now she’s got them again. But, really, its not a big deal. After I stopped “acting like a wild dog” (what does that even mean?), I calmly told her that she wasn’t allowed to cut her own hair. She agreed. Then she asked me to fetch her a doll.

No way. I’m not falling for that.

I’m hiding all the scissors until Harbour is old enough to fight back, should River ever decide to cut her hair too.

When I asked afterwards why she had done it, she said that she wanted short hair like Harbour. I thought that was a great idea, so yesterday we walked down to our local children’s salon and got the rest chopped off. She’s quite happy with it and so am I.

I love her hair short – I always have. It doesn’t seem to have the curl that it used to, but we’ll see. Maybe more will come back with the hot days of summer. I love that she looks a bit tomboy with short hair – it certainly tempers the frilly pink outfits that River insists on wearing.

I really never expected that I’d be able to get her hair cut short again, since she seems to have the idea that princesses have long hair – usually blond. Honestly, it drives me nuts that her definition of beauty has already been influenced by Disney and Barbie but this latest adventure gives me a glimmer of hope. During the past year, I’ve made an effort to point out that beautiful women come in all shapes and sizes and colours – maybe my message has been sinking in. I’ve also tried to focus on inner beauty along with outer beauty. Princess Culture doesn’t really give you a lot to work with, but I try.

Anyway, for some reason, she’s fine with short, brown hair on herself. She firmly believes that she is indeed a princess and that she is beautiful – regardless of what her hair looks like. I happen to agree.