The Reckoning Week 48: Sweating Small Things

February 11th, 2021

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Eliza has silly putty in her hair. It’s been there for days. I first noticed it sometime late last week, high up there in the very front — the part that swoops down over here eye — putrid-yellow, viscous, impenetrable silly putty. The texture of wet cement, but if you mixed it with superglue using nuclear fusion.

We googled. I tried gobs and gobs of baby oil, conditioner, and shampoo. I refused to try the remedy my husband suggested: peanut butter mixed with mayonnaise. Frankly, I would prefer to have silly putty in her hair.

I fantasized about finally cutting those bangs I’ve been wanting to try on one of my daughters, but the silly putty was all the way up to the root. So instead, I did my best to brush it out smoothly, and left it there. Probably until it grows out.

We can’t possibly sweat the small stuff anymore. 

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Unless you’re six, in which case, you definitely sweat the small stuff to a prizewinning extreme.

Case in point, Eliza left her yellow mittens in my mom’s car after school pick-up, so in the morning, she had to wear a different pair of mittens. You would have thought I suggested she pluck out her own eyeballs and wear Phoebe’s to school. The histrionics were so intense. 

I have been trying to recognize that in these times, and at this age, sometimes, when we lose our minds over mittens, we’re really just expressing our anxiety about wanting to control our own lives. I can relate so deeply to this, and I am not immune from a good temper tantrum once in a while.

Like me, my daughter does not give much of a ferk what her hair looks like. But if her underwear doesn’t harmonize in hue with her outfit, she will have a twitch about it all day long. 

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What I’m reading:

This Is a Primal Scream — brilliant multimedia piece on the New Yorker about us moms in a pandemic

Do you love reading about punctuation? I love reading about punctuation: The Case for Semicolons

What I’m watching:

This.

What I’m listening to:

Vermont Edition is the radio show/podcast that is keeping me grounded in these vata times, especially the weekly health report with Vermont’s Deputy Health Commish.

What I’m eating:

On Week 6 of a 12-week program with Happy Belly Health, and I’m enjoying different kinds of “healthy fats” this week — making salad dressing from hazelnut oil and high-quality EVOO, and indulging in off-season, way-out-of-their-element avocadoes.

What I’m working on:

For Saverlife: Know Your Rights With Your Stimulus Payment

 

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2 Responses to “The Reckoning Week 48: Sweating Small Things”

  1. Thomas Mason says:

    Who would have thought Silly Putty would now come out of hair? I’m surprised they haven’t been sued, class action like. You can’t be the only one with a child who is wearing it proudly in their bangs.

    Is it the Mayo that’s the issue? Or the mixture?

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