A common denominator for all people is to seek out their comfort
zone. For some, it's finding yourself amongst a large group of people. I think
we'll label this hypothetical person as "the life of the party". For
others, it's secluding oneself in an oversized chair and curling up with a good
book. Of course, that requires one to be literate which eventually may be a
thing of the past. You know, once the machines start just beaming knowledge
into our heads and The Matrix becomes a reality? Calm down, I'm just kidding;
that will never happen.
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| This is probably the only possibility of me ever knowing Kung Fu. |
For Ellie, a big part of her comfort zone is Bethany and I. That's
understandable as we are her parents and therefore, kind of responsible for her
well-being, and happiness and, uh, whatever other stuff that entails. Part of
us being her comfort zone is that she expects us not only to be around whenever
the situation calls for it but also that nothing about us has changed whatsoever
from her expectations of us.
For example, I'm the type of person who puts things off. Ha,
as if you didn't already know that. If I was to rank the things that I put off,
perhaps the top of the list would be haircuts. I wasn't always like that. When
I was growing up, I got a haircut every three or four weeks like clockwork. If
it got too long for me, then I'd always have trouble finding the part. That's
not really an issue anymore as I haven't parted my hair in almost 15 years. Interestingly
enough, that time frame actually corresponds with when I began growing my hair
out in college to my grandfather's great chagrin.
 |
| Probably not my hair at its longest, but still a decent representation of my college years... |
Anyway, after three years with long hair, the maintenance,
weight, and temperature of it finally got to me and I had it all whacked off.
Even though I don't grow it crazy long anymore, I still find myself putting off
getting haircuts for two or three months at a time. In fact, Bethany got a
little tired of it (because she wants me to look nice for some reason) and instituted
a haircut rule. That rule being that I can grow it as long as I like but once I
begin shaking my head to have the hair fall in place, I have to get a haircut.
It's simple and easy to follow. Even I can't mess it up.
That time finally hit last week as the head shakes were
becoming more prevalent. Also, we had a family reunion that Bethany wanted me
to look decent for. I can't understand why for the life of me. Therefore, once
Bethany arrived home from work, off I went to the local Sport Clips for a
haircut. Once it was completed (with me looking pretty dapper), I headed home
to see my girls.
I walked in the door knowing my wife would instantly notice
the difference. However, I didn't expect the difference to be so jarring for
Ellie. Her eyes were immediately drawn to my head and there they remained. I'm
glad that I at least have a little bit of self-confidence or I would have began
worrying about the way I looked. My hypothesis is that she had become
accustomed to my hair being a certain length that having so much taken off at
one time had totally messed with her. In fact, it had totally messed with her
to the point she didn't even want me to hold her because then it was harder to
study my head.
Luckily for me, Ellie forgot all about my new haircut once
the hypothetical dinner bell rang and she found herself in her real comfort
zone instead: a high chair with all the food she can handle at her disposal. A comfort zone that I am at least a little bit envious of.
#DaddyWrite
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