Column: Just Add Water

I've always known that watching my children grow up would be fantastic and exciting. But I never knew it would be so painful.

Whether it's been unpeeling my daughter from my legs the morning of her first day of preschool or giving my son free rein in the kitchen to make pancakes all by himself, I've had my parental share of bumps over the years.

Last month, growing pains in our house grew to a new level when my daughter Emma blew out 13 candles. With this hormonal shift happening in my home, I'm learning to overlook the little things.

When Emma spent all morning in the bathroom, I didn't bang on the door to demand she stop wasting water. When she chose an old T-shirt rather than the new green top I bought her for school, I kept my mouth shut. And when she talked to a boy on the phone 30 minutes after her bedtime, I calmly reminded her of the late hour and advised that she say goodbye very soon.

With all of these growing pains in our home, its been difficult to pay much attention to the other kids. So, I was pretty surprised one day in January when I noticed my son's hair had grown past his ears. In fact, I was shocked to see how scruffy he looked.

I must've been too busy to notice. I assured my son Cameron that he could get a haircut that afternoon. He immediately objected.

"What? Why not?" I asked. I was shocked. He usually likes to keep his hair pretty short.

"Because I'm growing it out. I want 'skater-hair,' " Cameron replied.

My mind flashed back to the teenagers I've seen at malls and around town with long locks. And despite the name of this newest hairstyle, most of the boys didn't even skate. I shuddered. That hair-do may look great on the older boys, but not on my baby boy.

"Well, you should get it trimmed a little," I pressed gently.

Cameron shook his head and simply refused.

It was then that Emma brought up an acne-removal cream she wanted me to buy her. I began a sincere plea for her to recognize her inner beauty. The subject of haircuts had been changed. And just like that -- my son had been given a chance to grow his scruffy hair out just a little longer.

In the past two months, Cameron's hair has grown longer and longer. And with each new inch of blonde hair has grown my distaste for this sudden growing pain. Every now and then I see another boy about his age with the same hairstyle. This usually reassures me that I may not be the only mother in distress.

Last Saturday morning, Cameron asked for me to take him to get his hair cut. Twelve dollars and 15 minutes later, Cameron had been magically transformed back into my little boy. Worth every penny.