I Wanna See You Be Brave

Today was a day of firsts. Maybe 5 or 6 years overdue, but nonetheless.

Rowen got his hair cut today at a hair salon.

Before you yawn at the seemingly mundane details of this, consider the long and bumpy road it took us to get there. So much so that I admit to crying on the way to the salon. Happy tears. I surprised even myself. I didn't know it was coming, but it was there. Thank God for waterproof mascara.

Listening to Sara Bareilles' song "Brave" on repeat didn't help stop the flow. Rowen was brave after 7 years of haircutting torment and tears and screams (many from me) from trying to cut his hair in our kitchen. Think sensory issues, being out-of-his controlled-element, and shiny scissors near his ears. I had finally talked him into going to a salon to get his hair cut. Phew It helped that my incredible friend, Carly, was his stylist and had graciously come to our house before to cut his hair a couple times. He knew her and felt safe letting her go at it.

I figured it would be a one-time thing so I could get some pointers on how to better style his wild hair. He is very particular about it, and I definitely think he likes it long in the front to help him "hide" a little. So no faux-mohawks or spikey do's for this guy.

To my surprise though, he loved it! Another Phew! He said he would come back again! Whoa! It didn't hurt that Carly got him a free pop at the end. It was like a trip to the circus! Well, kind of. Ok, so not really, but it might as well have been the way he reacted.

No it wasn't perfect, but it went better than I could have asked for. Yes, in the mere 10 minutes we sat in the waiting room I had to ask Rowen to calm down, get off the floor, and-my personal favorite- stop grabbing your crotch (I mean, really grabbing it. Although in his defense he simply thought it was super cool how the fabric felt when it was stretched out- and yes he was doing the splits on the couch. I actually had to say "No Rowen, I will not grab your crotch and feel it too." Jeez, does that ever sound bad. The things that I actually hear myself saying sometimes...).

So here we are, one lovely haircut later and he is happy. I am happy. Yay for us. And these lyrics show how big Rowen's brave is. He did it.

Take that autism.

Everybody’s been there, everybody’s been stared down
By the enemy
Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing
Bow down to the mighty
Don’t run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there’s a way out of the cage where you live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
Show me how big your brave is

Say what you wanna say
And let the words fall out
Honestly I wanna see you be brave

And if you have a moment, take a look at the video. It will inspire. Maybe Rowen will too if you think of him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=QUQsqBqxoR4