Unexpected

Today we went to the park with cousins and grandparents. It was a beautiful day (we've had a beautiful week of weather, we're beginning to be spoiled) and a bike and tricycle came with us. Our crowd got there first, so the girls rode up and down for a while, waiting for the cousins and grandparents. They finally arrived, bringing a rubber-band powered propeller plane. Grandpa Joe fired it off several times, then Hannah asked for a turn. She began to twirl the propeller to get it wound up for a flight. Grandpa Joe came and sat down.

Presently, one cousin came running over to ask Grandpa for help. Hannah had gotten the airplane stuck in her hair. After he tried for a few minutes, I began to realize that this wasn't going to be a short process, so I called them over and suggested that they go throw rocks in the water (since flying the airplane wasn't going to happen for a while) while I got the airplane out of Hannah's hair.

Oh.My.Goodness. Apparently, Hannah hadn't been paying enough attention as she turned the propeller to wind the rubber band. A piece of her hair that was hanging down had gotten all wrapped up in the thing. Luckily it wasn't in the rubber band, but it was definitely stuck in the propeller. Grandma Cinda and I both had a crack at it and ended up dismantalling the airplane in order to finally unwind it from her hair. Then I had the task of getting the snarls out of the hair. It was craziness. I think it took us about 45 minutes to get it out and the hair combed again.

Throughout the process, Hannah was completely calm. When she first came over, she asked if it would ever come out, and she also at one point suggested getting the scissors from the emergency kit. I'm really glad we didn't have to do that, since it would have meant cutting off at least 3 inches of hair in a prominent front/middle spot, which would have meant an impromptu haircut for the rest of her hair when we got home. And Hannah had just expressed a wish to not have a short 'do for summer this year. Phew.

There were some highly comical moments in all of this. Hearing one's nephew call for help, "The airplane is stuck in Hannah's hair!" You're not going to hear that very often. Watching Hannah come trotting across the field, one arm swinging free, the other holding up the airplane by the tail while the propeller remained quite stuck to her head. Joking with Hannah (once she knew it would come out, of course) that it might be uncomfortable to sleep with an airplane on her head, or that her hats would fit differently, etc.

But just so you know, if you're operating a rubber-band propeller plane, you should definitely keep your hair up and away from the propeller. This way you can avoid being dubbed "Airplane Head" for the rest of the day.