Of Lice and Lint....

Yes, I said the "L" word! It is one of those words every mother HATES to hear! However, if you have a child, let's say a girl child, in elementary school, you have probably experienced the dreaded day you hear "I think your child has LICE." First you feel this horrible embarrassment because you know that they are inside thinking, "they really must be dirty people to let lice attack their child's hair." Or worse they are thinking, "what horrible parents they are to not notice their child has a lice problem!" Then there is that sinking feeling of letting the ones closest to you and your child know that they too have been exposed to LICE. And then the horror sets in of what you are going to have to do the next several hours and days to make your home a "clean" home once again. Finally, after all the embarrassment you can think of washes over you your thoughts turn to your poor child who is suffering and will undoubtedly be whispered about at school on Monday.

Well, that just about sums up my day. Not quite, but close. I had spent the better part of the day enjoying a shopping trip with a couple of friends and my oldest daughter. My youngest was gone to a birthday party and my hubby and middle daughter had headed off to the deer lease. It was a great peaceful day and I was looking forward to a quiet evening at home with just my baby girl and I. We would watch a couple of movies, snuggle up on the couch and maybe have some hot cocoa. So I thought that was how my day would end.

I got the call about 3 p.m. from the mother of the birthday girl. We were going to meet between 3 and 4 to transfer children and bags to go home with their moms. She called to let me know they were on their way and then she said....."By the way, when they were going to fix you baby's hair at the salon today, they noticed she had nits (aka lice eggs). They wouldn't do her hair and they had done all the other girls' hair. We had to leave and go to another place to get their nails done because they would not let us stay at the salon." Yep, that was how I found out! Horrified for my child and for the mother who was responsible for her that day. Horrified that she had spent the night at her house the night before and spent all day with 4 other girls. Horrified that my baby was embarrassed and that the other girls would tell their moms as soon as they got home. Heartbroken as I thought of my baby girl and the sadness she must be feeling.

We rushed back to town and I picked her up. I inspected her hair and sure enough, there they were! She looked so sad and so down. I hated every moment of it, especially when I confirmed it was the horrible "L" word and not just dandruff as we had hoped. My baby suffers from dry scalp and dandruff and we had noticed she was having a problem with it and had been treating her for that. We thought the itching was in response to the dryness of her scalp. I had even looked at her head just a couple of days before to make sure I had not missed something. I saw nothing. Now today, her head was covered. She has the thickest hair of any child I know and I knew the night of peace and calm were now a distant dream.

Off to the drug store and home to the sink to wash her hair. We stripped the beds and bagged the toys and put them in storage for the next 3 weeks. Her precious monkey and pillow will now be bagged for weeks and she will learn to sleep without them for a while. She is heartbroken all over again because her best buddy, Allie the Monkey, will not be at her side and her pillow her daddy gave her is forbidden to sleep with her. Tears flowed way to easily and too frequently from my girl. Embarrassed, sad, heartbroken and now facing a night of treatments to kill the pesky critters that have spun her world upside down for a few days.

I don't know what I would have done tonight without my oldest daughter and her hubby. They came to our rescue and never complained an ounce. We have washed so many loads of laundry and cleaned the lint trap a million times! Every bed and pillow had to be stripped and washed. All towels and clothing that she had come in contact with had to be washed and dried. Every place she could have laid had to be vacuumed and thoroughly cleaned.

Because of her very thick hair, we had to do two treatments on her little head. She really was a trooper. She was so tired from the slumber party the night before and from all the day's events and now she was being put through several washings and dryings of her hair as well as a strand-by-strand inspection of each hair follicle. Let me tell you, she has many. And to think God has numbered each one of them!!!! I wish I had had His help in cleaning each one tonight!

It's after 11 p.m. and I have finally sat down for the night. I have a load in the washer and the dryer. I have several other normal loads to get done, but at least one more of sheets and towels. Tomorrow I will do another check of her hair. We will buy new ponytails and a new hair brush. We will look for new headbands and try to make her feel special after feeling so down. In a week we will go through the whole process again and have to reinspect every inch of her hair as well as rewash pillow cases, sheets and comforters again. Yes, you have to do it a second time to make sure nothing has reinfested.

This was not the night I had planned. I found myself being upset with whoever let their child go to school and expose my child to this critter. I could not believe any parent would allow that to happen. And then, I realized, I am that parent! I did the same thing. I have allowed my child to expose at least 4 other children that I am aware of. Who knows how many more! The embarrassment I feel is great. I did call each mom of the girls and let them know to be on the look out. They do at least know us and know we are "clean" people. Hopefully they will not have a problem with the critters as we did. Hopefully they will forgive us for bringing this around them. Hopefully I will be a better mom and notice things more quickly in the future. I hate so much that my baby has suffered this humiliation and pain. Somehow I have to make it up to her. Somehow I have to help her through this. Somehow we will get over this milestone and move one. I really had thought that my baby girl would not have to go through this as my other two had many years ago. I guess it is just part of growing up and being around other kids.