11:24 p.m. | 2005-03-12 Don�t Say The �B� Word. I attended YoungestSister�s baby shower today. StepMom (SM), MyFavoriteStepSister (I have two step sisters and they�re both my favorites, so whatever) and My FavoriteStepSister�s first daughter and I all walked in together. As soon as we crossed the threshold, tiny clothespins were thrust into our hands and we were instructed not to say the �B� word. Immediately, SM and I � simultaneously � asked for clarity as it pertained to the �B� word. Obviously, it was �baby�. Which was not the first thing that crossed either of our minds. But, then again, neither of us have babies. Albeit, she has children and grandchildren and whatnot. But, let me back up a little. When I drove up to YS� house, there was no parking in the immediate area so I parked on a side street. I was acutely aware of the child (boy, about 10-12 years of age) who was shooting some hoops while watching my every move at the same time. YS lives in a small community so �strangers� are noticed. Anyway, after I parked and got out of my car, this exchange happened. (YoungBoy:) Can I help you? (CI:) No, I�m fine. (YB:) Are you here to visit someone? (CI:) Um, yes. YES. I am here to visit someone. (Taken aback at being questioned by a child.) (YB:) Who? (CI:) My sister. I�m here to visit my sister. (YB:) Who�s your sister? (CI:) YS. (YB:) Oh, okay. You look exactly like her except you have long hair. I indulged him with answers because it�s a small town. However, I don�t really think they were necessary considering that he noticed the resemblance right away. I get that a lot. I can�t even count all the times I�ve pulled up into small towns and have been identified as one of the Irony Sisters immediately. Even weirder is that they usually know exactly which one I am. Except one lady at the baby shower. About three-quarters into it, she asked me if I had attended LittleNephew�s christening. I verified that. She told me she thought I looked familiar but hadn�t realized I was YS�s sister. I don�t remember ever seeing her before but I recognized her name immediately. She lived next door to YS and took care of LN for many years. I look like both YS and LN so I�m not quite sure why she didn�t know I was YS�s sister. And that the neighborhood boy did. Funny that. It was a good day. Interesting mix of people. StepMom, MyFavoriteStepSister, MyMother and EldestSister were all there. In addition, a family friend whom I haven�t seen since high school was there also. Very cool. And, of course, other YS-related people most of who I know. Games were played, of course. Normally, I really don�t enjoy that part but it worked out really well. The host, YS�s best friend, is not really good with that kind of thing� poor instructions, poor timing and not particularly assertive. Which worked to our advantage. I mean, really, you can only attend so many baby (or bridal) showers before all those games get absolutely stale. Since the host was a little hesitant, the more assertive amongst us took advantage and suggested new twists on old games. I have to say, I had some fun. The best part, for me, came after the party ended. I stayed on some since I didn�t have far to travel. Then, I remembered something. At the time, only YS, the host and another of her friends were there. Here�s what happened. (CI:) YS, can I ask you something? (YS:) Sure. (CI:) Would you cut my hair? (YS:) Sure. (CI:) No, I mean, like right now. Would you cut my hair right now? (YS:) Sure. Let me go grab a few things. (CI:) YOU are AWESOME. Just to note, YS is an amateur hair cutter. She�s not licensed or anything. She taught herself to cut her own hair in her college years because she was broke most of the time. She�s trimmed my hair once or twice in the past. And, she�s really good at it. At straight cutting anyway. She doesn�t do layers or styling. Nor has she cut anyone�s hair in many years. Not even LN�s. My request and YS�s response surprised YS�s friend � a former beautician. (I invited her to do some styling but she declined because she said she hadn�t cut hair in so long, she�d be afraid to.) Anyway, YSF was very intrigued with this whole idea of YS cutting my hair. That made YS a little nervous, which in turn, made me a little nervous. But, not for long. Once YS started combing my hair? No worries. The sister-bond-thing engaged. And, I swear, it was like sitting around in the beauty parlor. We all talked about stuff while the host washed dishes and YS cut my hair. It was fantastic. A true sister moment that went straight into the great memory storage locker. She did a fantastic job too. Her friends were very impressed; I wasn�t surprised at all. She took off a good five inches and my hair looks great. There�s no way in the world I would�ve let a hairdresser cut that much length off, but YS? Of course. I can�t even begin to tell you how glad I am that I asked her to cut my hair. And, I learned a lot too. People are oddly frank in a beauty parlor [kitchen] setting. your thoughts? seed flower