The Unforseen Casualties

Sometimes, a parent just has to do what they have to do. Sometimes, you can never foresee the casualties of war (ahem - parenting) that might come along with the difficulties of said war.

For me, my first real casualty has been Kira's hair. While we were in the hospital, her hair became tangled and matted from the way she was laying and the fact that I simply overlooked the concept of combing her hair while I was so busy trying to keep her from being in too much pain. I just didn't think about getting a comb. I figured it would be okay to wait until we got home. After all, there have been several occasions when I didn't actually brush or comb her hair for 3 or 4 days at a time simply because - well - I just didn't think about it.

Of course, what I failed to take into consideration in my particular state of mind was the fallout. Yes, the actual fallout of her hair. Apparently the medication causes a person's hair to shed a bit. This shedding, combined with laying down flat on her back for several days and being sweaty and such translated into a matted mess the size of Texas. Okay - the mess was really only about the size of a good book, but still...you get the point.

Grandma Janet and I spent a few hours a day for three days trying to work out the tangled mass of hair. We did not succeed.

I took Kira to the beauty shop in hopes of saving the hair. I've invested a great deal of time and energy in that beautiful long blond hair and did not want to lose it to this particular war. It would have been better if I could lose it to something like - say - a willful mind that decided she no longer WANTED long hair. THAT would have been okay. But to find myself in a position that left me with no choice...it was so sad. The ladies at the shop were more than willing to attempt to save her hair with the help of a special oil product for just this very purpose. Kira, however, vetoed this plan within minutes because it was less than comfortable. So, alas, Kira received her very first professional hair cut. The long hair is now gone - at least for a while - and replaced by this new do...