As if my week wasn't rough enough with everything going on at work, I came home to absolute hell on Friday. My mom called me to tell me that Kelly went to get her hair cut, only to be sent home again because the beautician said she had lice. Caitlyn had spent the night there on Sunday, which meant that she probably had it as well. So I pick her up from dance and go to Walgreens to purchase the shampoo and special comb to get rid of it. Once that was done, I had to strip all of the beds, and towels and most of the clothes and begin washing them. Then bagged up all of the pillows that can't be washed and all the stuffed animal she had on her bed and put them in sealed bags. Luckily, my cleaning lady had been at the house on Friday. Why is that lucky you ask? Because the woman vacuums EVERYTHING!! And from what I have read online (and I have read a lot this weekend), that is one of the most effective ways to make sure they are gone from your house.
It took over an hour to comb through Cait's hair with that comb. And while doing it, I didn't find anything that I thought could be nits. However, that's not to say there weren't. The reason it was so difficult for me is because Caitlyn has a very dry scalp. Add to that dryness, the harshness of the shampoo, and you end up with a lot of flakes. So when you are looking for small white things in a head full of hair, it can be a grueling task to say the least. I did the best I could, crossed my fingers, and hoped for the best.
When we woke up on Saturday, I checked her hair again and couldn't really see anything other than flakes. So I took her to CCD. Naturally, she walks in the classroom and tells her teacher she might have lice. Mind you, this teacher is a freaking lunatic!! Because I haven't blogged in a while, I haven't shared the crazy things she has said to these kids. Things like, "God only forgives 50% of your sins." Looney tunes!! The teacher immediately sends her to the office. Rightly so. I would have done the same thing. The director calls me, and I tell her that I didn't see anything in Cait's hair, and I used the shampoo mostly as a precautionary measure. I assured her that I would not have sent her to class if I felt she was a threat to the other children. She agreed and escorted Caitlyn back to the Church where they were going over the stations of the cross.
I picked Caitlyn up and as we were driving home, I asked her how class was. She proceeded to tell me that this crazy bitch of a teacher, upon returning to the classroom, told Caitlyn that she needed to sit in the back of the classroom because lice can jump. Um, what???? First of all, the damn things don't jump, that is not how lice are transmitted. Secondly, if the director brought her to class, then clearly it is safe for her to be there. Lastly, if she had any issue with it, she should have called the director again and had me pick the kid up. How dare you ostracize my kid and make her sit in the back of the classroom?? Does she not realize just how cruel kids really are? They are kids, they make fun of other kids. It's their job I think.
I was so shaken and upset, I couldn't even speak. I called Matt and told him what happened (he was at a clinic all weekend), and he tells me to call the director back. I told him there is no way I could call her, as I was crying because my heart was broken for Caitlyn and the embarrassment she must have been feeling. He said he would call her and discuss this incident and the sin forgiving incident. And that he did. The director was absolutely mortified and said that she would be discussing this with the teacher. Now let's see how things go next week.
For the record, I don't know that Caitlyn ever really even had lice. I didn't see anything on her head, she hasn't scratched her head at all, and now she has the shampoo on her head that supposedly protects her from future infestations (yuck) for 14 days. Me on the other hand, I can not stop itching my head to save my life. I know it's completely psychological, but I can't shake it. I'm hoping it passes in the next couple of days or I am going to be driving myself crazy!
On a much happier note, Caitlyn had her first softball clinic this morning and absolutely loved it. She was a bit nervous about it the last few days. But once she started playing with the high school girls that were helping out, her confidence grew immensely and she had so much fun. She is counting down the days until the next one!
