Speaking of Tragedies...

Before I get to the story I want to tell, I'm pleased to report to those of you who have worried about me that I was able to make the transformation from slug to semi-human sometime over the weekend.

And again before I get to that story, I'm considering using the picture below as my Facebook pic. The one I have now just doesn't feel like the me I am right now. But my daughter tells me she'd be embarrassed. I'm still undecided. I mean, embarrassing teenagers is kind of a parent's job, isn't it? There is a reason for posting it here, however. And that's the story I've been talking about. And I know this'll be a shocker, but it's about hair. Again. Sorry. But at least this time it's about FACIAL hair. That's right - look, I still have mine! And that's what I'm worried about.

As you may know, Day Ten is the day that I have lost hair on each round of chemo. Last time it was just my nose hair. I don't have much left. Just those eyebrows and lashes. And I'm getting especially nervous. Which...finally...leads me to my story:

Until a couple months ago, if you had asked my opinion of my eyebrows, I would have told you they're bushy and out-of-control. I spent high school looking perpetually curious, because one brow was always arched higher than the other. The more I tried to fix it the worse it got. I eventually learned to ignore and tolerate them. Until I took that "Look Good, Feel Better Class." It's the one I talked about before that teaches cancer patients to make themselves look like hookers so they'll feel better about being bald. (No really, it's a great class that is offered free by the American Cancer Society, and has been proven to help women do better through treatment.)

Well, during the class, the cosmetologist started to teach about eyebrows, in case we had to draw ours on. She started to show how to find where to start drawing, but then she looked at me, and said, "Wait! These are perfect!" She then used my formerly unappreciated brow as the perfect specimen for all things brow-like. I was pretty floored. Especially when she said, "I hope you don't lose those. It would be a tragedy for all mankind if those brows fell out." Yep, you read that right. A TRAGEDY to ALL MANKIND! I must add that we were all kind of giddy with all the product fumes we'd been inhaling. But still...I'm thinking the world has had enough tragedy without adding one more to the mix.

But the story doesn't stop there. There's still the issue of my lashes. Now those I have appreciated. But not for a long while. Back in high school, when I was hating my brows, I was, I admit, lovin' the lashes. I remember being on a date once in the backseat of a car. Another boy and his date climbed in next to us, all cozy like. And the boy looked past his date to me and said, "Wow, look at those lashes." I felt the girl next to me get all tense and annoyed. And while I was embarrassed and felt bad for the girl, I mean--talk about a jerk--I was still feeling mighty proud of those lashes.

But eventually I had five gorgeous kids with five gorgeous sets of lashes, which at first I figured came from me. Until I realized that all the comments went something like: "Wow, look at those lashes. Did you get those from your dad?" At first I would be all defensive and say, "they came from both of us." But eventually I gave up and started using phrases like, "I USED to have really long lashes."

That all ended with my cosmetologist friend. After the great love-fest with my brows, it came time to put on mascara. It was a really great mascara that made my lashes look super long. And once again she stopped class to admire them. She said she has women come to her and pay big bucks for lash extensions, with the goal of making them look just like mine. I know that totally sounds like bragging. And normally I wouldn't dream of repeating something like that. But we are talking about a...TRAGEDY...to all...MANKIND! (Her words, not mine.) So you see, it's not me I'm worried about. It's all mankind.

And seriously, as much as I'm appreciating my facial hair right now, I'd feel pretty stupid asking you to pray for it. But maybe it wouldn't be too much to ask you to send good vibes my way for the next couple of days?