Legs, too?

Shopping for the shaving stuff was easy enough. But oh boy, the thought of using a razor had Hannah apprehensive about the whole thing. I asked her if she wanted to shave my armpits.

So there we were, in her bathroom, mother and daughter, daughter learning about shaving armpits. I gave her some basic rules.

1. Use warm water. You want your pores to open, you'll get a closer shave.
2. Never use a dull blade. And since she doesn't know what that is, basically let Mom guide you in the process.
3. You don't need to use too much shave gel. Yes, it's cool to play with, but to shave with a little goes a long way.
4. No side to side. Shave down.

Of course, I did not have much for her to shave, compared to what she had. She was first afraid it would hurt, then afraid it would tickle. When she saw how easy it was to do on me, we then focused on her. And it was quite easy, too.

"Mom, what about my legs?" she asked.
"Well, how do you feel about it?" I asked in return.
"I am annoyed by the hair," she said.
"Remember, it's your body, your choice, but I think we should talk about this tomorrow." I replied, thankful to not deal with any more hair removal for the day.

The next morning came too quickly, I was greeted with a child I almost did not recognize. She was moody, and well, just plain bitchy. Sheesh, remove a little hair and all of a sudden, I get demon child.

(Okay, honestly, we've been dealing with moodiness here and there, but this was the first time I really blamed puberty.)

After she complied with Ted and I and started to work on her room, she came to the kitchen and asked about her legs.

"Can I shave your legs first?" she asked.
Sigh. "Yeah." I said.

We went into the bathroom again, I rolled my pant legs enough for her to shave my legs. She wet them, and felt how prickly they were.

"Mom! That's gross!" she exclaimed.
"Well, you start shaving your legs, and this is how your hair will grow back. Prickly and gross. Is that what you want to deal with from now on?" I was thankful for the way Hannah set this up herself.

She felt her legs, and said, "They're not hairy!" Then, her big grin disappeared and she asked, "Mom, do you think I need to shave them?"

I ran my hand down her legs and said, "No, I don't think you do. The hair is not as thick and dark on your legs as it was your armpits, and I don't think you will get teased about your legs like you could with your armpits."

I did tell her that her skin is dry, more important than shaving is the need to moisturize her skin.

And as for the swoopy bangs...I kind of hope she forgets about it for a while. This mom can handle only one thing at a time.