My dear friend Carmela is my mom role model. You’ve seen the WWJD? bumper stickers? Well, when faced with parenting issues, I think: What Would Carmela Do? Carmela is mom to four girls and seems to make all the right choices as a parent. Carmela’s mom, Marcia, set a good example. On the topic of hair, Marcia had this philosophy – bleach it, cut it, dye it, shave it or let it grow long; it’s just hair, it grows back. She was, however opposed to permanent disfigurations such as piercings and tattoos. I’ve subscribed to this philosophy, as you can see from the photo of my son, above, with perhaps the longest hair he ever sported. At times, in comparison to my clean-cut nephews, the hair did make me twitch a bit.

A few years ago, the boy let his dad shave his head for $25. (Maybe it was $50; I don’t remember.)

I had no idea this was going on at the time.

This was the shortest the boy’s hair ever was — he started growing it out again immediately.

I’ve chosen my battles when it comes to hair. Sometimes it’s hard, but like Marcia always said (as told to me by Carmela), it’s just  hair.

How do you handle horrible hair at your house?