Oh, my gosh! Life just keeps coming, doesn't it? I hope your journey has far more hills than valleys... or more valleys than hills should climbing not be your thing... Because, whichever way you look at it, the good times are better.
But, you just never know when something's going to come into your life that could send things into a tailspin. Something as innocent as trying on a giant panda head or a hat, maybe. Then, one day soon after, you are in the midst of a mess!
Have you figured out where this post is going? 😐
Of course, really, lice have no concept nor care about the time of the year. They just look for hosts and move on in. Then, as far as I can tell, their soul purpose is to multiply. Rapidly. One mature female lays around 50 eggs a day. I don't even want to do the math. It takes a week for the eggs to begin to hatch. After that.. Eggs are hatching every day.
It can get ugly pretty quickly. I know.
We still had 2 1/2 glorious weeks of summer left until school resumed last year when we discovered those itchy heads were, indeed, due to (feel free to shudder with me) bugs! My fault... Sort of. I mean, not for the lack of looking! But, I'll be the first to admit that my eyes aren't what they used to be. And, when I didn't see anything, I was quick to write it off. It was summer. Where in the world would they have come from?
*Enter reality* Ummm, anywhere?
By the time I realized it was (feel free to shudder with me) head lice, things were bad. But, we'd battled these things way back when our daughter was in kindergarten. (Another nightmare! Hair nearly to her waist... oh boy!) Things had not changed in getting rid of them. We knew what to do. First on the list, to the store for the shampoo. Then, the girls sat through hours of combing while the washer and dryer hummed continuously in the background. A good round of vacuuming after bagging everything plush (just for good measure... not to be confused with paranoia... 😁)
*contented sigh*
Yep, I was feeling pretty good.
So, the day after when heads were still itching, I asked Google if the itch remained after treatment.
Google said yes.
Well, then...
*insert a mental dusting of hands here*
That's that.
Except, the day after that, the itching intensified. That didn't seem right.
It wasn't.
The problem was we'd never heard of super lice. 😱
Have you?
Well, apparently, some of the little pests have grown resistant to the toxins meant to kill them over the past 30 years or so. The RID did not even phase the super lice. Nits missed during combing were hatching every day.
*sigh*
We were back to square one.
Not being able to stand the thought of slathering chemicals all over our (Yes, I said our. 😭) heads again so soon, we went the olive oil route next. The oil is supposed to suffocate the lice.
Oiling up and sleeping in shower caps was a fun adventure. (For the girls, anyway.) The pillow cases, however, were history.
After those combing out sessions, (Ummm, complete with the washer and dryer ever running in the back ground, I might add. 😭 Square one.) our plastic nit removal combs were looking a bit snaggle toothed. But, no worries! Surely, we had prevailed!
Nope.
I'd read that it may take a 2nd treatment. *Heavy Sigh* Repeat entire process. And... bugs.
Apparently, super lice can hold their breath a really long time. 😭
Or, maybe I failed to make sure, both, hair and scalp were heavily coated allowing some breathing room. No pun intended, but, hey, laugh or cry, right?
Whatever the reason, we still had bugs.
And, it was getting old.
The sleep deprivation (or, perhaps, a hormonal menopause thing chose that moment to rear it's ugly head, I don't have a clue. Talk about a scourge! Does this stuff ever end?) kicked in and I got a bit teary. Which, in hindsight, I dare say was not as alarming to the girls as laughing would have been. I'm sure it would have come out sounding more than a little maniacal. 😂
I mean, my stars! How out of control had I let these things get?! You would think the combing and combing some more would have done the trick by now! I am sure the wailing worry that we were going to have these things forever entered the mix somewhere.
I managed to keep my pitiful thoughts to myself. But, the girls, too, were growing weary of this trial and, quickly, picked up on my despair. I might have thought what if we have them forever. They were, immediately, certain of it. Gloom and doom were about to reign supreme.
Then, my eyes fell on our combing cup. And, I knew what to do.
I gathered my girls close and assured them that this was not a forever kind of thing. I told them I was sorry I cried. I was just tired and disappointed because the oil hadn't worked. I told them I knew they were disappointed, too.
Then, I said I knew who could help us. *Pointing to the cup* 😁
We prayed.
I began by reading the cup and telling God I was sorry I had not thought to talk to Him about this problem before now. I said that I knew He was always listening to our prayers. I told Him I knew He would help us I asked Him to calm the girls fears and help them worry no more. I told Him I knew He would help me know what to do next.
I popped on a movie and grabbed my tablet. There had to be something natural out there that would get rid of these things.
This time, God had Google come through, immediately! ClearLice popped up. All natural and guaranteed to get rid of head lice in one day. One day! I started reading up and cross referencing...
I could find no reason not to purchase this product and believe it would work. Thank you, thank you! Praise be to God!
I could not wait to tell the girls the good news! One Day! I ordered 2 bottles of shampoo and a metal tooth comb. Overnight. The thank you prayers ensued! And, we joyfully settled in to wait.
We played a few board games. We combed out our hair with our pitiful little comb and left it pinned up to see what it'd look like. The girls made cupcakes while we waited for it to dry. Yum!
Turns out, Chloe is not a fan of curls. But, oh my gosh! Just look at her! And, her sister! I can't even! 😍
We hopped up the next morning raring to start our day. I ripped the bedding off and tossed it down to the laundry room for the last time. One day! Guaranteed! Perhaps we would be doing our final combing sans the distant hum of the washer and dryer this time. The FedEx driver always came just before noon. I might even get it all finished before the shampoo even got here.
Oh, yes, we were keeping on the sunny side of life all right. Happy days were here again!
Just after noon, I got a text alerting me that our package had been delivered. Whoa! I could not believe they came and went without our knowing today! But, so what! They'd come!
"It's he-e-re!" I called, happily, and rushed toward the door.
We whisked open the door expecting the small package to be right there. It wasn't. Pushing open the screen door, we looked to the left just under the window. The usual spot for larger package drop offs. Nope.
We, hopefully, went outside and peeked around the corner of the house... Nothing. 😐
If the package was delivered. It had not been here. They had given our package to someone else!
All eyes were on me. I told the girls not to fret, we'd get it figured out and ushered them back inside. I grabbed my phone and tablet to call customer service at ClearLice. They were on top of it, immediately. A duplicate order would be in the overnight shipping at no cost. And, they were contacting FedEx to start tracking the package.
I was disappointed that things might not be resolved, like, now, but thankful the end was still in sight. Cynthia mentioned that we needed to remember the cup. That was for certain! We talked to God and said we knew He had it all figured out, even if today wasn't the "in one day" day.
With not quite as much joy as the day before, we played a few board games, combed through hair, took a few cupcake breaks (Okay, that part could qualify as being a bit more joyful.😉 ), and waited.
That evening, my phone rang and the gentleman on the other end asked if I had been expecting a package...
Hallelujah! He lived in the neighborhood! I met him at the end of the driveway before he had a chance to get out of his car. Thanked him, profusely and flew back into the house to wash some hair!
The ClearLice worked! We were all bug free before the sun came up.
More importantly, though, the girls had an important truth planted in their hearts.
When we ask God for help, He helps.
Over the next few days, we marveled at the fact that God didn't leave us hanging. We asked Him for help and the solution for the problem was put before us. Then, when it went to the wrong place, He still made sure everything worked out.
No wonder that we marveled. It is truly amazing, isn't it? The way God navigates things to turn out all right, I mean. He will do it every single time. It might not be in one day, but He will do it. You just have to trust Him. Faith is a mighty thing, my friend. And, the more you witness God working in your life, the stronger it grows.
That's the heart of this matter, when you are faced with a scourge, whatever it is, know that God is at the ready to rid you of it. When you are hit with a problem, you can trust God to see you through it. We must cement that truth in the hearts and minds of our children. It's most likely to happen when, not only do we teach them with our words, but when they see us living out the example.
The devil is a liar and will stop at nothing to keep us from the life God has planned for us. He has already made headway in the minds of our children through the circumstances that brought them to us. Fuel for his evil fire. He will try and use it their whole lives through. Abandonment, guilt that it was somehow all their fault, unworthy of a parent's love. Liar!
We can #BreakTheCycle if we look to God and commit to teach our children His ways. If we show them His love through our own.
Let's work together to raise up a mighty force that will be ready to live out God's plan for families in their homes.
It will change the world.
See you next time.
Love,
C
.