Have I told you I hate head lice?
The Ex picked up the kids that Friday, they spent the weekend with her, and Husband went to pick them up on Sunday. When he got to The Ex's house, she was outside with her sister-in-law (Boyfriend was still in jail) Daughter came out of the house and sister-in-law asked what happened to her hair; Daughter replied, "Nothing." (Just stop for a second and think about this. If someone asks you what happened to your hair, what is your response going to be? Wouldn't you first ask them what they were talking about? Or would you immediately say "nothing" happened to your hair, without even knowing what they were referring to?) Sister-in-law said Daughter's hair was short in the back and asked who cut it; Daughter said no one cut it. (Huh??) Sister-in-law said her hair didn't cut itself, asked to see Daughter's hair, looked at it and said, "You have lice eggs." (....are you f**king kidding me?? Again?! Daughter was there for 48 hours; how the hell did she get lice again?!) The Ex came over and looked at Daughter's hair and said, "Yeah, you do have them. Where did you get them from?" (Not our house, that's for sure!!!)
Husband texts me and says Daughter has lice. I am livid. I begin stripping down all the beds and couches again, washing everything, checking the brushes and combs, checking the kids' heads for lice. I call Our Attorney, who says to get a clinical diagnosis before assuming that's what it is. Husband took Daughter to urgent care; yup, it's lice. Husband stops at the store, picks up more lice treatment, brings the kids home and starts cleaning the vehicles.
I start treating Daughter's hair for lice and I cannot believe what I'm seeing. Starting at the hairline on her neck and going up one, possibly two inches, her hair is practically gone. It looks like someone took a buzzer to the back of her head. I ask who cut her hair. Daughter says she doesn't know. (I figured maybe she just didn't know the person's name) I ask if The Ex had a friend or family member come to the house and cut it, or if they went to a salon. Daughter says she doesn't remember (Now I know she's hiding something. She's old enough to know where she was when her hair got cut) I tell Daughter that if she had it cut at a salon, we need to call the salon and tell them that she has lice so they don't expose other people to it. Daughter says, "Mom cut it." (This is a new low. Not only does The Ex have lice in her house for the second time in less than three months, but she butchered her own child's hair, told her to lie to us, and then pretended to be surprised when her sister-in-law "found" the lice.)
Husband comes inside, I tell him that The Ex cut Daughter's hair. He asks Daughter why her mom cut her hair. Daughter says, "She didn't." (...the hell?) I say she just told me in the kitchen that The Ex cut it; Daughter says again that no, The Ex didn't cut her hair. I ask why she told me that The Ex cut it if she didn't; Daughter says she doesn't know. I ask who cut it; Daughter says she doesn't remember. (Now I'm getting upset; we don't tolerate lying in our house) I tell Daughter that I am not going to have her sit in our house and lie to my face; Daughter finally says, "...I think Mom cut it."
I called the school the next morning to say that Daughter had somehow picked up lice; they said if she had been treated, she could attend school. I said they may want to send something home with the other kids just to let them know. On the way to school, Daughter says that a few weeks ago, The Ex had treated both girls for lice "just in case." (I told Daughter you do not treat for lice "just in case" - you treat if there is lice. You don't take cold medicine "just in case" you get a cold; you don't start chemo "just in case" you get cancer.)
The fact that The Ex knew about lice and blatantly tried hiding it from us still disgusts me. There was no denying it this time; it had come from her house. Rather than dealing with it like an adult and saying "Hey, we got lice again," The Ex tried hiding it, told Daughter to lie to us and pretended not to know anything about it when it was discovered. In doing so, she put the same people at risk that she had put at risk the last time this happened, but worse this time was that school was in session - The Ex was willing to expose all of those kids and their families to head lice. If her sister-in-law hadn't said something in front of Husband, nobody would have said anything and Daughter would have gone to school the next day.
Husband texts me and says Daughter has lice. I am livid. I begin stripping down all the beds and couches again, washing everything, checking the brushes and combs, checking the kids' heads for lice. I call Our Attorney, who says to get a clinical diagnosis before assuming that's what it is. Husband took Daughter to urgent care; yup, it's lice. Husband stops at the store, picks up more lice treatment, brings the kids home and starts cleaning the vehicles.
I start treating Daughter's hair for lice and I cannot believe what I'm seeing. Starting at the hairline on her neck and going up one, possibly two inches, her hair is practically gone. It looks like someone took a buzzer to the back of her head. I ask who cut her hair. Daughter says she doesn't know. (I figured maybe she just didn't know the person's name) I ask if The Ex had a friend or family member come to the house and cut it, or if they went to a salon. Daughter says she doesn't remember (Now I know she's hiding something. She's old enough to know where she was when her hair got cut) I tell Daughter that if she had it cut at a salon, we need to call the salon and tell them that she has lice so they don't expose other people to it. Daughter says, "Mom cut it." (This is a new low. Not only does The Ex have lice in her house for the second time in less than three months, but she butchered her own child's hair, told her to lie to us, and then pretended to be surprised when her sister-in-law "found" the lice.)
Husband comes inside, I tell him that The Ex cut Daughter's hair. He asks Daughter why her mom cut her hair. Daughter says, "She didn't." (...the hell?) I say she just told me in the kitchen that The Ex cut it; Daughter says again that no, The Ex didn't cut her hair. I ask why she told me that The Ex cut it if she didn't; Daughter says she doesn't know. I ask who cut it; Daughter says she doesn't remember. (Now I'm getting upset; we don't tolerate lying in our house) I tell Daughter that I am not going to have her sit in our house and lie to my face; Daughter finally says, "...I think Mom cut it."
I called the school the next morning to say that Daughter had somehow picked up lice; they said if she had been treated, she could attend school. I said they may want to send something home with the other kids just to let them know. On the way to school, Daughter says that a few weeks ago, The Ex had treated both girls for lice "just in case." (I told Daughter you do not treat for lice "just in case" - you treat if there is lice. You don't take cold medicine "just in case" you get a cold; you don't start chemo "just in case" you get cancer.)
The fact that The Ex knew about lice and blatantly tried hiding it from us still disgusts me. There was no denying it this time; it had come from her house. Rather than dealing with it like an adult and saying "Hey, we got lice again," The Ex tried hiding it, told Daughter to lie to us and pretended not to know anything about it when it was discovered. In doing so, she put the same people at risk that she had put at risk the last time this happened, but worse this time was that school was in session - The Ex was willing to expose all of those kids and their families to head lice. If her sister-in-law hadn't said something in front of Husband, nobody would have said anything and Daughter would have gone to school the next day.
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