I don’t remember being any sort of klutz when it came to using
scissors in grade school. We all cut ragged lines back then.
I don’t remember being any sort of klutz when it came to using scissors in grade school. We all cut ragged lines back then.
In high school I took a sewing class and one leg or sleeve would often be too short, but I just figured sewing wasn’t my thing. I never took it to mean I was challenged when it came to cutting out the pattern.
Later, as a budget-conscious mother, I decided to trim my children’s hair. How hard could it be to cut bangs? Cutting them was usually no problem. Getting them straight was another matter.
Eventually, my son started getting his hair cut by the barber. My husband didn’t like the bowl look I’d managed to achieve. I continued to trim the girls’ hair until my middle daughter turned 3. The moment I took the hair brush out of the drawer, she’d go barreling down the hallway, screaming like a banshee. I decided it would be better for us all if she got her hair cut short.
I wanted her hair to have that professional polish, so I took her to my favorite beautician, Marcie, and she started cutting all the girls’ hair. In order to stretch out our haircutting dollars, I’d trim their bangs between appointments. This was when I started questioning my haircutting ability.
Marcie never came out and said I was lousy at cutting hair. She just asked if the girls had gotten hold of the scissors and cut their own. When I admitted the work was mine, Marcie got very quiet. Eventually she felt comfortable suggesting that I never give another haircut in my life. OK, she was more polite about it than that, but the message was there.
I can’t say I completely followed her suggestion, occasionally breaking down to trim some bangs. Looking back, I realize I probably shouldn’t have. School pictures from years past have helped me realize my children spent too much of their lives walking around with crooked bangs. Maybe that’s why all of my girls grew out their bangs years ago.
Cutting human hair is one thing. Animal fur is quite another. This summer I decided to trim one of our dogs. One is a Dalmatian – no haircuts for him. Our other dog is a collie mix. I didn’t realize that collies come with two coats of hair – one on the surface and another full coat underneath.
I thought it would be nice to give the poor dog a break from hot summer days and trim him a bit. Our collie hates to be brushed, and the moment he saw the brush he took off to the very back of our yard. Thirty minutes later I managed to get him back on the porch. Now, in addition to being full of tangles, he’d picked up countless burrs to help clump up his fur.
In hindsight, I realize it would have been smart to break down and buy a heavy-duty dog-hair trimmer. But no, I decided to go the cost-effective route and use my good sewing scissors to cut his fur. I gave up trying to sew anything years ago and I couldn’t think of a better use for the scissors. Plus, I didn’t want to start a major marital fight by using my husband’s beard-trimming scissors.
Two hours later I’d managed to trim bits and pieces of the dog’s fur. He resisted every attempt to make this a quick procedure. I was careful not to cut anything but fur, but the way he yelped and carried on I’m sure the neighbors thought I was torturing him. Exhausted, I quit for the day.
That was in June, and I’ve never found the energy to tackle the job again. This summer, our collie has wandered the yard looking as if he has a bad case of mange. I would have taken him to a groomer but was too embarrassed by my own lack of trimming talent.
But I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. Maybe it’s just my fine motor skills that are lacking. Perhaps I’d do better on something bigger. I’ve been eyeing the hedge trimmer in the garage recently. We have some pretty big bushes out front. Perhaps I’ll get creative and try trimming them into some unique shapes. I mean really, how hard can it be to trim a bush? I might just give it try.
