Summer "Do"s and Don'ts

I'm not sure if my title is grammatically correct but you get my drift. The summer started off with Jake getting a buzz hair cut in my friend Christa's backyard (just as my brother and cousin did every summer). Will, however, did not want his hair cut. I wasn't going to force the issue. He was growing his hair out and really liked it. There are bigger things to get my panties in a wad about so I decided long ago...hair isn't a big deal. In fact, lots of boys Will's age have long hair...I'm OK.
Will's hair continued to grow out. It didn't bother me that much until we started to have to use conditioner in it and comb it. He didn't like me combing it...I told him that is what you have to do when you have long hair.
This Saturday, we are having family pictures with Jeffrey's family. Jeffrey's mom mentioned at least getting Will's hair "trimmed" around his eyes. So, last Wednesday (after dinner at Village Grill) we walked 3 doors down to Cuts to get his hair cut. We talked to him at dinner about getting it trimmed and then talked about getting it cut.
When we walked in Cuts, Jeffrey & I thought we had agreed on getting his hair cut. The nice lady said, "You want a faux-hawk?". It sounded cool enough to Jeffrey and I. Away she went with the clippers...and Will's face became sunken. He was sad. We had no idea what a big deal to him his hair was. And she cut it all off!!! She put some cool gel in it and off we were. He was very upset.
The next morning, he cried for 30 minutes about how much he hated his hair. It wasn't worth the tears! So sad...especially when it wasn't a big deal to Jeffrey & I. We told him he could grow it out again. Will doesn't get upset about how he looks...never has. He has never complained about the clothes or shoes he wears. This was a first in the "image" department.
So, the Faux-Hawk hasn't been "gelled up" since that fateful day. He's gotten over the shock of it all and so have we. If it is that big of a deal to your kid...let them have long hair. I'm sure there will be bigger issues in the future to fuss over!!!