the end of an era

We were SO sad to learn of Mario’s retirement earlier this month. Mario has been cutting the boys hair since all of their very first haircuts and John’s since he was in high school. He’s off to a whole new life in Florida and we are all so, so sad to see him go. The man has the patience of a saint. He would never flinch or bat an eye when the big boys were babies and would scream bloody murder the entire time they were getting haircuts. That went on for about a year before the stopped crying like someone was cutting off their arms instead of their hair. But Mario never minded- he was always so calm and nice no matter how loud they screamed. He would let Timmy spray him with the water bottle, stand up in the chair with the blowdryer -all to keep him happy while he was cutting his hair. When I told the boys that their beloved Mario was retiring, there were definitely tears shed (from me, too) and Timmy said he never wanted anyone else to cut his hair, ever and cried a river of tears. Break my heart, kid.

A bad scan of the boys first haircut scrapbook page. They were okay the first time, it was every.single.time after that there was hysterics.

How are we ever going to find someone else to cut their hair??? Any local recommendations?