sprinkles

Question of the day: Where does the bow go when you untie it?

When I was in junior high, crimping your hair was a cool thing to do. I did it to myself. I let Jenny do it to me. Now, I cannot tell you why. And at this point in my life, there is nothing in my bathroom that requires electricity: no blow dryer, no curling iron, and certainly no crimper.

Rebekka came to cut everyone's hair today (except for mine--I will let her trim it next time, I think, just to keep it healthy, but I just realized that I can live for a year without Annette and let the time serve a purpose! I think that by July, my hair will be long enough to donate and then I can go back to my beloved short do.). She treated the girls to a little bit of crimping in the front, which they loved. Caroline got the name close to right by calling it crinkles. Elanor swapped that and called it sprinkles instead. Everyone's hair looks fantastic, too.

Then we hit bathtime.

"Mommy, will you take the sprinkles out?"

"No, they will come out in the bath."

"Do you have to cut them out?"

"No, they will come out when I wash your hair."

"Where will they go?"

"Nowhere, honey, it's your hair that is crinkled. When your hair is washed, the crinkles won't be there anymore."

Water running. "Mommy, where are the sprinkles? I don't see them in the water!"

I think part of their confusion is that they have never seen a curling iron in action and don't understand that hair can be styled at all. It is true, I have no style. True confessions time. None at all. Rather than try to go down that road, then, Caroline and I talked about tying bows on her pants (because, of course, her Keen sneakers cinch, they don't tie, and her other sneakers don't have laces) and where the bow goes when you untie it.

I'm still not sure she understands.

And where does that bow go, anyway?