Day 1544: Haircuts

When it comes to personal grooming, I have to admit… haircuts are not my favorite thing in the world.  In fact, I tend to put them off until I look like a sweaty-toothed madman.

That said, whenever you move to a new country, your next haircut becomes something of a challenge… so I was determined to get one before leaving for Eritrea.  And I wanted to get it done during one of my morning outings with Gilliam.

And guess what?

Gilliam needed a haircut, too.  And at first… he seemed totally game.

So, we started the morning with our traditional trip to Dunkin Donuts, followed by a trip to the library… and then to the salon.  However, between the library and the salon Gilliam started trying to talk me out of getting a haircut.

Normally, I would have totally caved.  I don’t like haircuts, but I needed one before I left… so Gilliam humored me… although he made it clear that he didn’t want one for himself.

Not that he had much say in the matter.

When we arrived, there were two stylists available and they set-up chairs right next to each other, however, Gilliam was not impressed.  He became even less impressed when his stylist picked him up and placed him (gently) on a buster seat.

Gilliam wanted nothing to do with him or the haircut he was offering.

Instead, Gilliam opted to sit quietly in the seat on the other side of me and watch patiently while I got my hairs cut.  Our conversation was quite entertaining for the rest of the folks in the salon.

And once I was finished and cleaned up I declared it Gilliam’s turn.  And with great trepidation, Gilliam climbed onto the buster seat and then made a declaration of his own. 

He would only get his hairs cut if he could sit on my lap rather than on the buster seat.  Which was totally fine with me… but then he also declared that he did not want to wear a cape… and he didn’t want me to wear one either.

So… there I was… with my little two and a half year old on my lap… him getting a haircut, and neither of us with any protection from the falling itchy follicles. 

Throughout the cut, Gilliam remained unimpressed, but like a big boy, he dealt with it.  And all the while, the two of us were getting covered in hair.

Now, I’ll have to admit.  I hate the itchiness that results from getting a haircut and often times I time my cuts with the ability to get home for a shower… and this cut… this time… with Gilliam… was the most itchy I had ever been! 

When it was all said and done, Gilliam was amazing.  We were both covered in hair, but we both looked good from the neck up. 

The only thing that really impressed Gill at the end of it all was the lollipop… and all I could do was monitor the time.  I had just enough to get home, drop Gill off with Serena, and dart to Grayson’s school for one last father-son lunch before heading off to Africa.

While Gilliam received a much needed bath and nap… I spent 20 itchy minutes hanging with my eldest… and it was totally worth it.

That said… the moment I got home I showered.  And that felt (almost) as good as making it to lunch with Grayson.

Day 1537: Grayson Time

Now, Gilliam wasn’t the only son of mine getting a healthy dose of daddy-time during my two weeks in Atlanta.

However, with Grayson in school most of the day I had to be a little bit more creative with our time together, especially for just the two of us. 

I’m a younger brother, so I have no idea what it is like to be an older sibling, however, I know this… big brothers, more times than not, have to share their time with their siblings.  And this is certainly true with Grayson.  Getting one on one time is few and far between. 

So, I made a point of giving Grayson his own special moments.  Simple as they may seem… they were very special.

After school one day I took Gray to play mini-golf for the first time.  We had been meaning to play for months.  We tried to find a course in Miami and Washington, DC, however, we could never seem to find one conveniently located, especially without having a car at our disposal.  So, finally, in Atlanta, we had a chance to play 18 holes.

One day Gray mentioned he had a bunch of Xbox games he didn’t want anymore and he really wanted to get a new game we could play together.  So, I told him to pull all of his games out and choose the ones he didn’t want any more… once he did, I took him to Game Stop and told him I would add $10 to how ever much Game Stop would pay him for his old games.  In the end we had enough for Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, which was the game Gray really wanted.  And then we went home and spent the rest of the afternoon playing.

Now, one of the more enjoyable things we did together, for both Grayson and me, was actually during school.  I joined him for lunch.  His school is huge and they actually have special tables outside of the noisy lunch room for families.  It was really great and we had so much fun.  And I especially enjoyed Gray’s thought on his new school:  “Dad, this school is nothing like Suriname International School”.

This made me laugh.  “Yeah… I know… your class here is almost larger than the entire student body of SIS.”

The most impressive thing about my visit was how the school handles lunch money.  Back when I was in school we had to buy lunch tickets and we were responsible for keeping them safe and not losing them.  If you did lose them… you went without lunch.  However, at Grayson’s school, parents send money directly to the teacher, who deposits it in a digital lunch account.  And after Grayson picks out his lunch and goes to the cashier, he simply types in a five-digit number into a keypad, unique to him, which automatically deducts money from his account.

I don’t know what I thought was cooler.  The accounts the lunch room used for payment or the fact that Grayson knew his lunch number without having to think about it.  Honestly, I don’t know if I could have memorized a five-digit number when I was only six and a half.

Grayson actually knew I was coming the first time I came for lunch… however; the second time I showed up was a surprise.  And when his class appeared marching down the hall single file, and he saw me standing there waiting for him outside the lunch room, Grayson lit up.  Staying in line he just smiled at me.  And when he caught up with me he gave me a hug and said, “Dad!  You didn’t tell me you were coming today!”

Me: “I know, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it.  Gilliam and I were running some errands, but we got home in time for me to run up here and have lunch with you.”

Gray:  “Thanks Dad.”

And yet again, we enjoyed 20 minutes together at the family table.  This time I had Grayson in stitches telling him about taking Gilliam for a haircut that morning… which explained why I was covered in hair… and itchy… but I’ll save that story for my next post.