Fallen Locks

So should little girls have long hair, tied in cute pig-tails, or should you give them fresh, trendy summer bobs as if they were little adults? I was on the fence until the other day when a little 4-year-old forced my hand.

Imagine walking into your bathroom and finding large locks of hair all over the floor. Funnily, my brain made some strange twists and turns (Did my own hair fall out? Was Becca's hair falling out?) before I saw the scissors. Ah. Crap.

"Becca!" Sure enough. Though she'd left enough alone that I hadn't noticed at a distant glance, my child's hair was in shreds. Thankfully, there was only one place where she had cut right up to her scalp. (yikes!) And it was underneath, so whew!

After a time-out, lecture, taking away playing outside privileges, and whatever else we could think of to make sure she understood the severity of her actions and that girls do not cut their own hair, I got the scissors back out to try to make something of this mess. I didn't do too badly, and yesterday, I took her in to the salon to have it done a bit more professionally (although I didn't like the way she cut the back, so I fixed that again afterwards myself).
So here you have it - Becca's new style:

So just where is Heaven?

I told Grandma Shurtleff (Sandra) a story about Becca tonight, and she asked if I'd written it down. Since I haven't yet, there's never a better time than now.

My boss's mother passed away a few months ago. Our family new her very well, and the kids especially loved going over to "Granny's" house. It might have been her grandmotherly nature; it might have been the jar of chocolates that sat on a side-table in her living room; it might have been her welcoming home full of wonderful smells of yummy meals and treats. Whatever the reason, Granny was and is well-loved by all, including my own children.

Her passing was the first time I had to explain death to my children, ages 4 and 3. I explained that Granny had died and gone to live in Heaven with Heavenly Father and Jesus. The kids seemed okay with this explanation, although I had to re-tell it several times. We helped take care of some things at her house after her death, and when we would go over, the kids would ask if Granny would be there, or if she was back from Heaven yet, and I would re-explain everything.

A few weeks later, after getting in the car to go to the store, Becca and Michael asked if we could go to Granny's house. I explained again that Granny wasn't there anymore, and that she was in Heaven with Heavenly Father. Becca replied that she knew Granny was in Heaven, and asked if we could go there to see her (as in drive the car there). I smiled. I don't exactly remember how I replied - try explaining the abstract location of Heaven to a 4-year-old - but I am sure I assured her we would see Granny someday, just not for awhile.

I hope as she grows up that Becca never loses that feeling that Heaven is a real place that is not too far away.