First things first. As the parent who is responsible for their curls I know how heavy and hot they can be. So with another school year behind them and an overgrowth of hair on their heads, we made our way to Lincoln Barbers to take care of some important buisness. With a small amount of trepidation, they stepped up to the chair and felt the cool nylon draped like a backward cape around their necks. Showtime. The first touch of the clippers is always a little intimidating as painless as they know it to be. But as soon as those dark brown curls start dropping to the floor, they are instantly transformed, lighter, older. And once they're finished they can't stop their hands from massaging their newly shorn scalps as though something new and foreign had replaced what was there. It may have to become our annual rite of passage into summer. Now after bounding into the ocean for a swim or dripping out of the community pool, there's no need for that dreaded hairbrush. No need for mom to wet their hair and tug at it, just trying to make it behave. It's a welcome break for all of us at least until they insist on growing it all back again.