#4

roque was born with a thick mop of hair. and so was our daughter arianna. and so was my husband. and so was i.

by the time he reached a year old, he has had five haircuts. that's how fast his hair grows. and imagine, it grows lengthwise as well as sideways. i have always dreamed of him sporting a crewcut ever since he was a toddler. i think his head was shaped wonderfully and he was cute enough to carry that cut. but my husband and daughter would not hear of it. three months ago, he started going to the barber with my husband. before then, it was always a major production as my mom's hairdresser would cut his hair. he would sit on my lap, fidget undlesslessly and in the end it would seem as if both of us had a haircut. with the barber, he would sit still the whole time, waiting patiently for the ritual to end. the trips to the barber was something he looked forward to, as he felt priveledged to be going to the barber just like one of the big boys. just him and his dad bonding. he even memorizes the name of his barbers. there have been three so far... marvi, luis and noel.

bless barber noel! with razor #4, he has finally fulfilled my simple dream. voila! i am right, roque's head has a wonderful shape indeed, perfectly round without bumps or corners. and yes, he now looks like a cuter, naughtier imp. when he's sweaty, i see millions of itsy bitsy glistening beads through his hair pores instead of sweat-plastered hair. when i run my fingers through his hair, it feels like touching fresh evenly-cut grass. but the best part of it all is that not only i, love the crewcut. roque exclaims proudly to me, "i love my hair!"