For the Love of Lice and Thanksgiving

As we enter into our holiday season, I thought I’d paint a little picture of the last few weeks.  In this picture, it just dawned on me today how very different those of you not living in my country might see our experiences. 

Lice.  Before my experience with these head-crawling, egg-laying, irritating little pests, I thought them to be reserved for those who were not clean, did not bathe or were just plain … nasty.  Oh the danger of having preconceived notions!  The girls’ school had an “outbreak” of Lice.  We, all four of the Elledge girls, had the privilege of participating in this plague.

After several natural home remedies, lots of lice repellent shampoo and euro’s spent for stronger over-the-counter treatments, we opted for taking Parker and Libby to the Lice Center.  Apparently Lice like their hair.  Yes.  You heard me right.  Lice Center.  Not having the time or energy to research just how many cases of Lice we Austrians have per year, it’s safe to say there is a large number … for we have a Lice Center … run by the government … and kept packed with needy Lice victims until the doors close … everyday.  Run by hefty men with no hair, it’s a cross between Willy Wonka’s Chocolate factory and a bad Alfred Hitchcock movie.  Brightly decorated, child-friendly paintings and fuzzy, stuffed Lice hanging from the ceiling are the first impression when one walks into Lice Central.  Once you are called to go back to the treatment room, the atmosphere changes into sterile blankness.  The girls were brought into the spraying room where they were draped with a paper cape, sprayed with a treatment and when done topped off with a plastic cap for their little Lice-filled heads.  After waiting 20 minutes, they were brought into the washing and combing room.  Once their hair was rid of the super strong oily substance that could be dangerous for their health but was applied anyway, they got combed … by a strong man who cared nothing for tangles, scalp damage, or the future of any proper pony tail.  He combed until all the eggs were removed.  Done.  We got an “official” certificate (a very Austrian thing … an “official”  certificate for everything) and it was over.

Having a small washing machine, like enough for 2 pair of jeans and 3 pair of socks, and not having a dryer … the laundry was … let me just say … HORRENDOUS.  Not feeling back on my game yet, my Chris had the most brilliant idea of taking the bulk of bed linens to the laundry mat.  At 5 and 6 euro per load for washing and 3.50 euro per load for drying … let’s just say we spent a small fortune for de-licing our washables. 

Now that we have the Lice issue behind us, we are now preparing for one last Thanksgiving Celebration with a group (that seems to be increasing) of University students.  I forget, being an American, the novelty of this most famous of American holidays.  These students have “heard” of pumpkin and pecan pie, but have never tasted one.  So, in an effort to reach out to our new friends, share a great American tradition … and jump at the chance of sharing a great message of reflecting of the goodness of a God who gives good gifts … and to recall those good gifts at Thanksgiving ... today we celebrate our most famous celebration.

Because of the large group of students and my not so large energy level, we opted for doing only desserts.  With the help of a team mate, we hope to feed about 30 students enough pumpkin and pecan pie to make some great memories!

So, there you have it.  As we tie up Thanksgiving here in Austria … and hopefully our Lice experience … the Christmas Market’s are up and running.  The Christmas light that line the main streets in the inner city are up.  Advent begins this weekend (I think) and we are gearing up for a really slow-paced yet meaningful Christmas season.

Until next blog …

lice-free and full of pie,

Christina