Little Things Missed

We stopped into Walgreen's while C was at his doctor's appointment that he nearly missed while we were out getting Windows 8 for super cheap at Best Buy since apparently this is a big shopping and sale day or something?  I don't know.  But anyway, we'd dropped him at his appointment at the last possible minute and then J and O wanted Starbucks hot cocoas and while they drank those, I wanted to run into Walgreen's.

As a bonus, they had Scotch tape on sale for buy one get TWO for free, which is perfect right before Christmas wrapping time.

As we wandered the aisles, O suddenly said, "Mama, it looks like brushes are on sale.  Do you think I could get a brush and a comb for my hair?"

The sale price was buy one Con-air brush and get a second one for half-off.  But the brushes were still like $7 each.

J added, "And can I get one of those detangler ones like S has that I've asked to get one hundred times but still don't have?"

I started getting that irritated feeling I get when the kids bombard me with "can I have's" down every aisle in the store, which is why I prefer shopping alone. 

I looked at O and said, "Why do you need a brush today?  Christmas is coming.  Maybe you can get one for Christmas."

He dropped his face towards the floor.

"Okay, Mama."

"Why are you so sad over a brush?" I asked.

"Because every year, I hope and hope to get one at Christmas and I never do.  I have never had a brush of my own."

I wanted to tell him that was a lie, but I caught myself.  Wait. A. Minute.

Oh my.  O has very fine hair and we've usually kept it in a buzz cut, so he really never needed a brush.  But lately, I have been lax on clipping it and so it's a little longer, a little shaggy and I keep telling him he needs to brush his hair because it's sticking up in places. 

This kid has never owned a brush.  He's almost eight.

Talk about feeling like a totally inadequate mother in that moment!  How could we have gone this long and never gotten the kid a brush?!  It's crazy.

It's especially crazy when I think about how it's one of the things (along with a toothbrush) that I always make sure to include in those charity Christmas shoe boxes we do almost every year and send off to the orphanages in Mexico.  So the orphans have hairbrushes of their own, but not our own son.  That makes me sad to think about how neglectful that makes me feel as his mother.

After looking at the selection, he picked out a lime green set that was practically one of the cheapest ones there and it has two brushes (one big, one travel-sized) and a big comb.  It seems a little girly to me, but considering the other options, there weren't really any manly boy brushes, so I decided he could get that set and while we were at it, we might as well get J the half-off detangler brush she wanted.

O left the store with the biggest grin on his face.  He opened that packaged brush set as soon as he got in the car and brushed and brushed his hair like he was Rapunzel.

I can't believe I denied him this simple joy for so long.  It was completely unintentional.  I just get so busy and when I have brushed his hair (because I truly have brushed his hair), I just grab somebody else's hairbrush, I guess.  I never really thought about how he didn't have -- and might want -- one of his own.

Thankfully, that mistake is fixed now.  I think he's already forgiven me.  I just need to forgive myself!

P.S. C's doctor appointment is to check on a back pain he's been having for a few days -- it's similar to the feeling of his kidney stones earlier in the year, so he's just getting that checked out to be on the safe side.  They gave him some medication and ordered him an ultrasound for next week.  We pray that it all goes well and that he's healed quickly and out of pain before he travels to New England for work (December 3rd).