It's All Relative: The Natural Haircut

Pierre-Marie and I have lots that we quibble about. We're both stubborn opinionated people so of course we have things that we argue about over and over. He hates that I will make a late night snack and leave the kitchen a mess. I think he rambles on incessantly sometimes. He consistently nags me to not put my purse on the table, "you put that thing everywhere and then leave it where we eat". I hate that he won't throw out old t-shirts or buy shoes that don't make him look homeless.

But the one fight we have, religiously, every three months is the the HAIRCUT fight.

It starts like this.

Week 1
Me: Honey, think you should get a haircut. (it's looking a little rough around the edges)
Him: It's on my to do list

Week 2
Me: Babes, so, I'm thinking maybe you should just schedule a little clean up this week.
Him: Yeah, yeah, I know...it's on my list

Week 3
Me: Ok, seriously, you have to get your freaking hair cut. You look crazy
Him: I know...I know...it's on my list

Week 4
Me: Get a haircut or else....
Him: 👀

We're clear for a month or two and then start it again.

P-M and I were on week 2 of our haircut fight when he was diagnosed. At that point, he thought, what the hell....I don't need to get a haircut because my hair is about to fall out. And I agreed. So we started chemo and were told from the beginning that with this treatment he would lose his hair.

The beginning

And we waited. Sarah had finally convinced him to let her trim his hair with the electric razor that Simon had brought to the hospital. He didn't look as scruffy and I stopped talking about the hair. I'd come home from work and attempt to slyly run my hands through his hair to see if anything came out. He always caught me and said, nope not yet. And we'd laugh.

Last Thursday, I came out of the shower and P-M said it's starting. Not sure what was, I asked and he showed me his hand full of his hair. I asked him if he wanted to shave it, but in case you weren't aware, my husband is French, so he said, in great earnestness. "No, there's no need. It will fall out when it's ready."

And.....it's coming off

Psychologically, I was not ready to watch strand by strand to fall out. Logistically, I didn't want to have to clean that up. But I left for work and hoped for the best. Coming home that night he had on a cap. He said a lot had fallen in the shower. Our friends, Kelli and Sebastien, had invited us over that evening and with a few words from Sebastien, our Man was convinced to shave the rest of it off.

And so in week 5, he got the haircut that I had been hankering about, but for all the wrong reasons.