Being a mother of 2 young children I have many fears to face - some worse than others - and some very unrealistic and the cause of great laughter to friends with older children - but all very real concerns for me - especially if they are events, experiences that haven't actually happened ... but could ! It seems I spend a lot of time worrying about those things that haven't happened and don't even look like happening ....but could ... seriously !
But one of the fears I have known could and will happen, and I have spent a lot of energy worrying about when it will, is ..... Head Lice. Even the thought of it used to make me feel queasy - as a child I never had this issue, and so I have (foolishly) led myself to believe that only dirty and nasty kids get lice - and it was only when I started meeting really nice (and seemingly clean) people that I realised how deluded I had been, and, in fact, dirty and nasty people (well perhaps just dirty), are the LEAST likely to get those damn critters.
So keeping in mind all this anxiety, plus the fact that I still deluded myself into believing only Kids get it, one can only imagine the horror and humiliation when I found myself sitting in the chair at my slightly glamorous hair dresser (another delusional issue in my life), and was informed that I had HEAD LICE !!!!!! Apart from nearly throwing up on the slightly glamour hairdresser (who was now treating me like a leper), I realised I had finally crossed the threshold - it had happened. Thoughts in my head went a bit like this for the next 20 minutes: How, why, when, why, how, why, shit ...what now, why, when, how, OMG what do I do, how, why, when, OMG I'm dirty and nasty ....
The postscript to this story is probably one familiar to those who have been there - done that - I've spent half a mortgage at the chemist, have drained the earth's water resources due to the amount of washing, and have taken on monkey-like qualities with my children (who have NOT got the critters - Oh the irony!)
The other postscript is this ... like many things with pregnancy, birthing and now parenting - the things you spend so long worrying about - aren't always as bad as you thought they were going to be - humiliating perhaps - but just part of the crap that you find yourself doing, that you never really thought you would have to deal with - but you do - and as weird as this sounds - there is a sort of strength to be had from that - and a lesson that perhaps we should worry less about what might happen, and know that if it does - we are probably going to manage and be ok.
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