April 12, 2010

Shaved Legs

My seven-year-old daughter has terrible seasonal allergies. When we woke up this morning to find all of the cars in our neighborhood covered with a thick film of yellow pollen, I cringed.

During the months between March and June, my daughter takes an average of 4-5 showers each day. That, and a handful of prescription medications are the only things that keep the itching and irritation at bay.

"Can I take a shower in your bathroom right now?" she asked after school. Her poor eyes were half swollen shut.

A few minutes later, my daughter emerged from the bathroom dripping in blood.

"What happened?" I screeched, rushing toward her.

My daughter wiped the blood from her legs and looked confused.

"I honestly don't know," she told me, shrugging her shoulders. "I was just shaving my legs, and they started bleeding."

My mouth fell open. For once, I didn't know what to say.

"How many times have you have shaved your legs?" I asked finally.

"Whenever I take a shower in there," she replied, gesturing to the master bathroom.

I bit my lip and tried to smile.

She stuck out her nicked legs for inspection.

"Very nice," I said. "Very nice."

42 comments

the thrifty ba said...

as a hairy italian, i can relate with nicking up my legs at a very early age. not that young.

Our family said...

Funny shaving story! The allergies are not so funny. My 2 year old is miserable too despite Claritin and $84 eye drops! We are headed back to the doctor tomorrow.

MandyE (Twin Trials and Triumphs) said...

Oh, this just makes me cringe...thinking about nicked up baby legs...and baby girls taking matters into their own hands! :)

Jennifer said...

When my son was three, he nabbed my razor and then shaved his chin with it. He had a nice skinless patch on his chin, and I had to explain it to his preschool teacher.

Melanie said...

Little girls want to grow up too fast. I haven't nicked myself in a long time but from what I remember that stings like heck. I feel bad for her allergies. They are horrible this year.

Jessica said...

So funny! Growing up my little sister would have her little kids meal toys lining the tub and she would imitate us shaving our legs with the base of her little toys. Little girls grow up too fast!

MrsDixon said...

Sneaky little thing! Too funny!

Gina said...

I did the exact same thing... I was nine, but still.

Natalie said...

Sneaky!! I have twin 8 month old girls and love (ha ha) hearing about all the fun stuff I have to look forward to!

Kerrie (and Jason) said...

yep, been there, done that! Mum ended up giving me her old electric razor and warned me I would be shaving my legs for another 50/60 years now... lol

Charlotte said...

My 7 year old has asked me about shaving her legs for a year now. I think I'll make her wait a bit longer. Now I'm glad she asked before trying herself!

I nicked myself every time I shaved until I hit my 20's, I hope my daughters didn't inherit that!

Sam said...

Oh my goodness! That is one brave chickie! I had to coax my girls to the bath and then every time I picked up the razor they would squeal like it were a worm. Thats one girl hurdle you are nearly over!

Unknown said...

heh. my four year old asked me to shave her legs - first I laughed in her face but when she emphatically demanded that "yes, I am woman" I just ran the plastic (back side) of the razor up her shin that I had slathered soap on. she was happy and I have avoided that argument, hopefully, for the next few years.

Emily Heizer Photography said...

HA! When I was in 3nd or third grade i did the same thing- shaved the skin clean off on one part of my leg. I still have the scar! I remember a friend's mother INSISTING that it looked like a shaving wound and I just denied it and denied it. (I had used my sister's razor to do it.) So rude. What purpose does it do to get confrontational with someone else's 7 year old?

Reality Jayne said...

I have many scars

Anonymous said...

My brother tried shaving his legs when he was about that age. Being the youngest with 6 older sisters, I guess he thought everyone was supposed to do that. He left about a 6" piece of wadded up piece of skin in my moms razor once.

One good thing about snow....no pollen.

Jennifer said...

When I first started shaving it was in secret, and I used my father's straight razor. Sliced the heck out of the top of my knee, and got in SO much trouble from my mother, who went out and bought me safety razors. Which I didn't use because I was so embarrassed to have been caught shaving. :D

Monkeys Mommy said...

You always crack me up!
My 9 yr. old also has those horribly allergic eyes and there are days (like today) that I am surprised they even let him in school. Also funny about the Silly Bandz. My son is obsessed with the silly things too. He wears them until they leave marks (from cutting off his circulation) on his wrists. I don't get it!

Nikki said...

Jana -

The awesomeness of your daily life never ever ceases to amaze me! The End.

p.s. word verification word "sh - bin" not quite shavin, but pretty darn close - it made me laugh!

Overthinking Mama said...

thats hilarious! i didnt start shaving my legs till i was at least 12...and then it really wasnt shaving... it was nair... because my mom didnt want me hurting myself. lol. but finally after months of begging.. i got a real razor!! there was a lot of blood loss... *sigh*

My Mercurial Nature said...

Aww! Poor thing...I recall doing precisely the same thing at about that age. I hope you find something to help with the allergies soon.

Diane J. said...

LOL, I'm loving her non-chalant attitude. Kind of like a "Duh, you didn't know?" Oh my gosh, too funny. Of course, it's easy for me to say that because I have all boys, when the teen started shaving he went directly to the electric razor. He didn't want any cuts.

I wonder how long she's been shaving, she's so young, but again, I love her spirit.

Joanna Wilson said...

ice cold very wet washcloths folded into a rectangle and laid across the eyes while you lie quietly on the couch-i suspect it was a ploy by my mom to get us all to BE QUIET but to this day it is the most soothing thing i can do-it's wonderful

Six-Pack Momma said...

Ha ha ha! That is great! Just so matter of fact about it! My daughter started shaving at nine, and I thought that was young. Of course, I bought the razor (she was a little blonde Sasquatch and was getting teased at school.)

DeeAnna said...

Isn't it funny how you want to shave your legs so bad when you are little, then wish you didn't have to when you grow up? My mom finally let me shave after this cute boy said, you have the hairiest legs I have ever seen! Nice. (6th grade) I gave you the Beautiful Blogger award, come check it out! You're the funniest, most beautiful blogger I've never met!!

Emz said...

OMGosh. Cracks me up. I used that EXACT same line growing up, "don't know, I was just shaving my legs, and they started bleeding."


Love it.

Wendy - Autism is A Trip said...

Oh my!! I remember my mama telling me how I'd have to shave for the rest of my life after shaving a stripe up my leg... My 3yo boy is getting a play shaving kit for his birthday tomorrow - I better hide the real razors!!!

Sami said...

She is quite the prodigy! I didn't start knicking myself until I was 13!

Emmy said...

At 7... Ahh you are in for it if she is already shaving her legs :)

HOA Mgr Lady said...

I remember dry shaving my legs when I was just a little older than that. 40 years later I STILL remember the pain....afterwards. At the time it hurt so good... or so I thought.
Ruth

Nancy Sabina said...

That is exactly how I started shaving my legs! When my Mom found out she said, "Sheesh. At least use your own razor!"

Paula said...

In secret, about eight years old, I shaved one leg only. With my dad's razor and shaving cream. I was too scared to do the other leg, I don't remember why. It felt so weird while swimming! My mom never found out. Or she ignored it, hoping I would never do it again. Which I didn't. Not until it was too late to go back. Good job keeping your calm.

CSIowa said...

I find the bleeding more humorous than the allergies, perhaps because I'm familiar with both. I'm partial to breathing. This might be tricky to teach a 7-year-old, but I have found great relief with NeilMed Sinus Rinse. There's a squirt bottle that you fill with warm water and then add the packet to make a saline solution. It calms the tissue down and makes breathing much easier. You just have to get used to squirting water up your nose every day during allergy season. I was skeptical when I heard about it, but I'm sold. It helps enough that I only use my medicinal nasal spray occasionally.

Mal said...

I'm surprised she hasn't nicked herself before! Bravo!

Parenting Ink said...

My daughter tried to shave my son's face--and managed to shave off some of his bangs. Oh, the joys of motherhood.

HW said...

My daughter did something similar when she was about 10. She had asked to take a bath in my jacuzzi tub and called to me "Mooooooommmm-uh!!" It took me 30 minutes to get the bleeding to stop from the gash in her shin.

Despite the fact that my razor was wet, she insisted she couldn't remember how her injury occurred.

Nancy said...

Yup, I can relate to that. I lost my Venus 4 blade razor, and since then I have been forced to use a cheep Bic two blade razor. Man, do they cut!

Amy said...

When I was in our "Little Miss" county fair pageant at age 5, my brother decided he needed to look good for pictures, too. He was seven and shaved off his eyebrows. Classic.

craftyashley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Stef said...

ACK!! I am not sure my daughter knows I shave my legs. I don't know if that says more about her or me....heehee.

Aubrey said...

This one made me laugh. I remember hearing my mom say she needed to shave her arms, so of course I shaved all of the hair off of my forearms when I was 11. She then explained to me that she shaved her underarms!

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