Thus ends a very busy weekend for us. I even talked to by friend for an hour on the phone and briefly checked in with my daughter. Our granddaughter had gotten head lice from her preschool, and it took a week to get her well and clean the whole house and laundry everything. I managed to get by without my kids getting lice until the fourth child, who got it twice. But talking to my daughter reminded me that one of those times, my Uncle had died (the husband of my favorite aunt) and I had flown out to the midwest alone for the funeral and to spend a few days with my aunt. On a Sunday my head began itching and driving me crazy. I tried to comb out the lice. We were in a tiny town where the one pharmacy was closed that day. I was horribly embarrassed and didn't want to tell my Aunt. I went to a big family reunion potluck trying not to jump every time a louse bit me. I was in agony that night, but couldn't get myself to tell my Aunt. I left on the plane the next morning and was writhing in agony the whole flight back. I probably gave the passengers and crew lice. But I would have been even more mortified to tell them or have my flight delayed. When I landed, I couldn't wait to get to the store and doctor my head. Lice hurt! The treatment is awful, if you have long hair, and I did. I haven't thought about that incident in many years. My Aunt is long dead, and I've missed my chance to tell her and laugh. I was in my forties when this happened, and didn't have the confidence to confide in her. Now I probably would have called my cousin who owns a drug store in a nearby town and asked him to unlock his pharmacy, run in and pick up some medicine for me. But I was too humiliated back then.
Big torture comes in little packages. Ants, termites, chiggers, wasps and bees. We do a lot of fending off these creatures, and mainly they move on, we don't get to get rid of them. I'm certainly willing to concede that in the case of me versus the lice, they beat me real good.
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