Don’t get me wrong. I love long flowing hair. I even love my husband Ray’s mass of curly locks around three months post-haircut. At that point, his hair has just the right combination of freewheeling curls and length. That perfect period can even stretch out to a month if there’s enough moisture in the air to keep the hair bouncy. However, around month five of growth from a very short haircut, Ray’s locks get a bit too long to curl and start moving more into bouffant mode. By the end of six months, his hair is so heavy it’s shifted to scraggly, which is far from my favorite look. We have been at that point for at least the past few weeks.

Ray says he hates getting his hair cut because he has a bad memory of a “drunk barber” who cut his hair when he was growing up. I’m not sure what the barber did, but it was unpleasant enough that getting my husband in for a haircut requires a precise combination of tact, skill, and pressure. Usually, I throw out the idea several weeks in advance of the six-month deadline and wait for the predictable response of “Not yet.” Finally, there’s a moment when social pressure swells to such a point that it trumps the “bad barber” experience and he’ll go in. Today was that day.

Ray gets a very short haircut when he does go in. That way he has lots of time before returning. So today, his hair is shorn close to his head and I think he looks fabulous. We will now let the growing process begin. As he was leaving the hairdresser she called out, “See you next Christmas.” Ray’s response: “Too soon!” Haha. I’m hoping for June, but know it’s more likely going to be August.

Here is a before and after shot of my handsome, barber-phobic husband.