04-08-2017, 12:10 PM
Trichotillomania
I have a daughter who wore
her mutilations openly
on Sunday mornings.
How is a mother to cover this up?
She'd sit in the rocking chair for hours, slowly erasing herself,
eyes empty, looking at nothing. At least
we weren't fighting. At least
she was focused on something –
the girl wouldn't apply herself or finish simple tasks.
That's not how I was raised, for sure!
Her eyelashes were the last to go –
they were the most painful; her eyes would water
or maybe she'd cry, but what did she expect?
Her thickening mascara helped her grip
and slowly tease them out. If I were her,
I'd rip them out quickly like a band-aid,
but she'd take her time.
If only she paid attention to what I say
the way she paid attention to her disgusting habits.
The eyebrows – oh the eyebrows! Half gone, half there.
It's like she was trying to look ugly.
A bald spot the size of a silver dollar
appeared in one evening on the crown of her head.
A headband couldn't cover it, and she never wore hats.
Why would she do this to us?
How was I going to explain this?
I gave her a comb-over that is working for now, but
I'm praying the wind is kind to us
till this whole issue of hers has blown over.
I don't know when it started. Tweens you know,
they'll do anything to make your life miserable.
Thank God no one else knows.
I have a daughter who wore
her mutilations openly
on Sunday mornings.
How is a mother to cover this up?
She'd sit in the rocking chair for hours, slowly erasing herself,
eyes empty, looking at nothing. At least
we weren't fighting. At least
she was focused on something –
the girl wouldn't apply herself or finish simple tasks.
That's not how I was raised, for sure!
Her eyelashes were the last to go –
they were the most painful; her eyes would water
or maybe she'd cry, but what did she expect?
Her thickening mascara helped her grip
and slowly tease them out. If I were her,
I'd rip them out quickly like a band-aid,
but she'd take her time.
If only she paid attention to what I say
the way she paid attention to her disgusting habits.
The eyebrows – oh the eyebrows! Half gone, half there.
It's like she was trying to look ugly.
A bald spot the size of a silver dollar
appeared in one evening on the crown of her head.
A headband couldn't cover it, and she never wore hats.
Why would she do this to us?
How was I going to explain this?
I gave her a comb-over that is working for now, but
I'm praying the wind is kind to us
till this whole issue of hers has blown over.
I don't know when it started. Tweens you know,
they'll do anything to make your life miserable.
Thank God no one else knows.