You read that right… it’s not a typo. Lice. Little buggy lice. Possibly the most terrifying thing in the universe. At least, that’s how I used to feel. I used to read the emails that were sent home about kids in school having lice. Every one would fill my body with a cold feeling like ice saturating my insides. I would imagine what it would be like to actually see little moving bugs in my kids’ hair. I would shudder at the thought of my kids’ hair becoming an ecosystem for another living creature. I was petrified of it ever happening to us. I was pretty certain I would have a psychotic break if it ever happened, my body taking over, erasing my mind because it knew in its subconscious that I would never be able to function after such an experience.
My son got sent home with lice this week.
First, I blocked out my fear and went into overdrive survival mode.
Figure out how to get him home.
Get a list of supplies to buy.
Go to store to buy said supplies.
By the time I got my son home, I was totally and completely freaked out. I was afraid of what might happen when I saw that first bug. I armed myself with the treatment, the nit comb, and a shower cap. I began to massage the treatment into his scalp. I ran the nit comb through, with only one eye slightly open, my head turned in disgust to the side, afraid of what I might see.
And there it was. A bug. Coming from my kids’ head. Living there. Feasting on it. Now resting on the comb.
O.M.G. Gulp.
I didn’t faint. My memory was not immediately wiped out. No one screamed. In fact, it was pretty much a complete non issue.
I continued. I had a garbage bag full of little bugs wiped on paper towels. And I still had my sanity.
The Lice Lesson
All my lice—I mean life—I’ve shied away from new experiences because of fear. I’ve missed out on things I really, really wanted to do because I was too afraid to do them for some reason or another.
As I look back at the times I’ve overcome my fears, I realize that the impetus that pushed me to accomplish what I was most afraid of was external in some way. When I rappelled down a sheer rock face for the first time, I was on a field trip in front of all of my classmates. I didn’t really have an option for getting down another way. When I was about to bail on my semester abroad in Spain because I was terrified of moving to a different country by myself, I went because—well, my parents would have made me do it anyway.
Of course, this has improved as I’ve gotten older, and I am able to overcome my fears much of the time, but I realized this part of my identity still lingers in my life, popping up here and there and attempting to limit me. And when it comes to the real terrifying stuff, like lice, I still block my own emotions and let the universe force me to overcome these fears. I had no other option. I HAD to pull the bugs out of my kids’ hair.
But looking back, I realize—it was fine. I was fine. It’s always fine. After the fact, I’ve never regretted doing something I was terrified of. In fact, it has always made me feel a little better about myself, a little more confident, a little more empowered.
So I’ve made a pact with myself. If every time I overcome a fear I feel like superwoman and my life becomes a little easier, I’m going to seek out these opportunities. I’m not going to let the universe force me into it anymore, either. I’m going to make the decisions to overcome my fears on my own.
The lice made me do it.
What are some fears that you would like to overcome? Share these opportunities in the comments below. Let’s help hold each other accountable and help each other become our own superwomen.
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