Nits

"What don't we want to find?"
"Nits!"
"What do we want to find?"
"Nothing!"

That was the chorus this morning as I went to give my son a kiss last night and he was furiously scratching his head.

I do the traditional method of tea tree conditioner and hours of combing with him as the products I tried that you leave overnight seems to make them breed like hell.

Oh they are disgusting those big beastly bloodsucking buggers!

And combing them out isn't the end of it as all you mothers know. There are the sheets to change and wash, not only his but mine, so often does he sleep in my bed.

I think of those mums in the hostels where they'd tell me they had to handwash everything in the bath as the washing machines are always on the blink. My friend long ago in temporary that would do the same. Launderettes add up if you have or want to use them all the time.

I'm lucky. The Foca bought our son a washing machine for his third birthday. In Landscape of a Good Woman, Caroline Steedman says that in the 1950's it was not uncommon for adults to be given things through their children. When I read that doing my masters I laughed at how little seemed to have changed, at least in my eyes. Post war economic abundance was also built upon family 'credit' for things like tv's, washing machines etc. Made me think at the time, of our society, and I'm just remembering now that once upon a time I used to think of other things besides me me me and my situation. I loved doing my masters.