Shave and a Haircut

Kate has been cutting The Pip's hair a little bit at a time, and this morning he demanded a trim. This is a somewhat fraught process, as he's two, and thus tends not to hold still very well. While Kate was trying to get him arranged, SteelyKid came bouncing into the bathroom to "watch," which is a sure route to disaster.

"C'mon, SteelyKid," I said. Let's go see what's in the bedroom, so The Pip doesn't get distracted."

"Distracted?"

"Well, Mommy's cutting his hair, so it's important that he not move. And if you're in there, he might want to move around to look at you."

"Oh, yeah. And he likes to look at your toothpaste."

"Um, sure, I guess."

"So, he might look at the toothpaste, and then at me, and then back at the toothpaste, and then back at me, and then back at the toothpaste, and then back at me. And then Mommy might get distracted."

"Well, I..."

"And then Mommy might forget what she's doing, and she'd be all confused, and say 'Why am I in the bathroom? Why am I holding these scissors?'"

"Um..."

"And then she'd put the scissors down, and go out of the bathroom. And then The Pip wouldn't get his haircut. That would be bad, because he wants a haircut."

"Well, yes, that would be bad."

"Or, I guess, if he moved while Mommy was cutting his hair, she might slip and cut him. That would be bad, too."

"Right."

"So we should stay in another room, and not distract them."

"Exactly. Good thinking, honey."