Last night I was minding my own business, happily watching The Office with my son and husband when all of the sudden I broke out into a cold sweat and my heart started racing. I think I may have even been mumbling incoherently – eyes glazed over.
I was propelled back in time to a particularly stressful event as a mom, lean in close here – I am going to need to whisper, “it was that time, when my sweet little five year old girl, with the long, thick, beautiful brown hair was … ahem … infested with lice.”
I just winced…and my heart is beating fast again. Frown.
It was absolutely awful.
One of the girls in kindergarten who had a special fondness for Samara and loved to sit and play with her long hair was sent home with head lice. You got it, that night, I checked my sweet little girls hair bow clasped head and as I sat under a bright light and searched … I spotted one of the creepy, disgusting little critters and thought I might puke.
I had heard the stories, but you cannot really understand the awfulness of it, unless you have lived it.
Everything…and I do mean everything, is suspect and must be deloused cause their minuscule little eggs can be hidden just about anywhere my sweet little girls head had been. And if you don’t REALLY get rid of them, I mean every stinkin little one of those vile creatures and their eggs – they just keep coming back.
Think about all the places your child’s head touches…yeah!! Think about THAT!
Everything made of cloth, like everything, could potentially be a carrier of future relapse – stuffed animals, pillows, bedspreads, blankies, clothes, carpets, rugs, hair bows, towels, furniture, automobiles…
Is your heart beating fast now?!
On top of that you have to keep rechecking your kids head, because even if you think you have adequately shampooed you may have missed an egg…hatching leads to re-infestation and you start the whole process over.
One of her classmates, an adorable little boy with an awesome head of hair, was reduced to tears when his mother couldn’t take the chance and she shaved that boy bald.
Yeah…I thought about it, but that seemed a bit extreme for my little girl.
The Office handling of the lice episode was filled with laughter … but not for those moms out there like me who were having flashbacks.
However, if it does happen, don’t make your kid feel bad about it…go through your personal creep out misery with a smile on your face!
OK – I feel better now. Smiling again!
How about it…have you ever had a situation where you “wanted” to freak out, but you managed to hold it together so your kid wouldn’t freak out?
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