"Haircuts are scary but we look handsome after and are cared for by the nice lady."

Calder before, during, and ten minutes after getting a haircut. (From left to right)

Being Brave

When I was around Calder's age, I grew my hair out super long. Despite what many thought, I did not grow my hair out that long because I thought it looked good. I actually thought it looked horrendous, but I hated haircuts more than anything else in the world. However, once I eventually sucked it up and got one, I realized haircuts were nowhere near as bad as I remembered. Calder, on the other hand, feels the opposite.

Calder loves haircuts. He is always super excited when it begins, and he is always super ecstatic about how handsome he looks when it's over. The only issue is actually getting the hair cut. He acts like haircuts are the most painful experiences ever. This is because Calder is hypersensitive to sound and sensation. The proximity of the scissors to his face, the sound of the scissors, and the way hair itches scare him and make him feel uncomfortable. If you saw Calder getting his hair cut, you would assume that his barber was ripping his hair out, while poking and prodding him with scissors. But that could not be further from the truth. Calder's barber, Jen, takes great care to ensure she doesn't hurt Calder in any way, shape, or form. She makes sure she doesn't pull his hair too tight, or bring the scissors too close to his face. She does the best she can with a squirming, crying Calder.

Rather than simply getting the haircut done as quickly as possible in order to move on to the next customer, she spends her time making certain Calder's haircut comes out how he wants. If she wanted to, she could spend 15 minutes with Calder and let him walk away with a terrible, mess of hair. But she wants to make sure that Calder walks away feeling handsome and confident. She understands that Calder is not as easy to work with as other customers, but rather than turning him away, she accommodates his needs. This is why Calder loves Jen so much, he has been denied plenty of opportunities because people would prefer to turn him away instead of working with him.

And, so far, Calder has never had anything bad to say about any of his haircuts - unless my dad interferes and asks for some goblin green hairspray.