Just in Case

Last night, while we were waiting for Brandon to finish brushing his teeth, Caleb asked me why I dye my hair. I explained that if I didn’t, most of my hair would be gray, and I’m not really ready for that.

He was a little horrified. “You’re not old enough to have gray hair,” he said.

I told him that, actually, I am and that on my dad’s side, people tend to get gray hair young. He asked if he was going to have gray hair when he was my age. I told him that I didn't know.

“When I grow up, don’t want to have gray hair.” He paused. “I want to have sparkly hair.”

“That sounds fancy,” I said.

“Maybe I’ll put glitter in it!”

I’m writing this down, in case he becomes one of those thick-necked high-schoolers, with the wrestling and the smugness, the copying of homework and obsession with the pecking order. I don’t think he will, but just in case, I have this in my back pocket.