Hair Confusion

I grabbed my hot chocolate this morning at a local coffee shop before heading into work. I chatted up the guy behind the counter, and eventually made a little small talk about the weather to a lady sitting by the counter. She took one look at the white streak in my hair, and asked "Is that natural?".

I get this all the time, it's a birthmark, and I'm forever getting that comment on it. Doesn't matter what I'm doing, someone is going to come over and ask me about the hair. I used to work in a coffee shop kiosk, and people would cross the mall to ask me that question. (The best was a woman with pitch black dyed hair in a goth-bar asked me that question) No, I don't dye it, it's a birthmark. Usually the conversation ends up with an "oh..." and the person walks away. Did this small piece of information now make their day? Do they feel better now that they know I don't dye my hair? Do they feel upset they can't do the same? I dunno. It's weird.

So, for the upteenth time this month I said... "Yes, it's natural. It's a birthmark." I got a new reply from the woman... "My friend has something like that too... it's a syndrome... something to do with people who are smart... it's definitely a syndrome!". I tried to convince her that my mother had attributed it to the cow that kicked her while she was pregnant. "Nope, it's a syndrome" She liked that word just wayyy too much! Syndrome.

So, it got me thinking. Of course I looked it up. Hello Google. I never thought any more of this hair of mine, other than I cut it all off when I was 4, because the attention was too much. Turns out she is right - it is a syndrome. Waardenburg Syndrome.

"Waardenburg syndrome is a group of genetic conditions that can cause hearing loss and changes in coloring (pigmentation) of the hair, skin, and eyes. Although most people with Waardenburg syndrome have normal hearing, moderate to profound hearing loss can occur in one or both ears. People with this condition often have very pale blue eyes or different colored eyes, such as one blue eye and one brown eye. Sometimes one eye has segments of two different colors. Distinctive hair coloring (such as a patch of white hair or hair that prematurely turns gray) is another common sign of the condition. The features of Waardenburg syndrome vary among affected individuals, even among people in the same family."

Yeah, people that are smart. No, people that can't hear! Yes, I have a white patch of hair, and blue eyes, but the blue eyes are from my Finnish heritage. And I'm 34, and my hair is still not gray. So, I'm not betting the farm on Waardenburg syndrome. I'm betting more on that damn cow, or some mixup in chemicals when I was born. Or, just a plain white patch! Period.

Now I have to start worrying about hearing loss? Umm... no... I'll just leave it as a white patch of hair, thanks! Or, maybe I can convince you that lightning hit me there?

No?

Oh well

-Rella

If only I thought of this back then.

My niece took off to the UK today, and I worry.

I know, it's odd, but I do worry. You see, her mom, my sister, died about 4 years ago, and I'm her godmother. So, I worry. The kid is now 20, but still I wonder. She's smart, bright, and talkative with anyone, but the idea of her going overseas bugs me.

No, not really the overseas bit, more like the idea that she will be away from home for a year. See, the kid got smart somewhere and is going to school near Amsterdam for 1 semester and then running across the world to Sydney, Australia for her second semester. Crazy kid.

I wish I would have thought of doing that back then in university. But, back then I thought that world traveling was for when I got into my 30's. Nobody told me that the 20's was the time to do it - I'd be too busy with kids in my 30's. Argh! I really envy her. She's doing what she wants to do. But, all the same, I worry. She's visiting a friend in the UK first for 5 days, then heading to her school. I would be going crazy right about now if I was her. But, in regular fashion, I haven't heard from her yet. She'll check in with us in probably about a week. Yeah, that's when she'll realize that she's had a lot of fun, but nobody knows if she is alive or dead. So, I've left a message with the guy she is visiting in the UK to let me know that she is okay. I gotta have my spies! :)

Anyway, until then, I'll be worrying. I can't wait until she gets set up in her living quarters at school - then I know that she will stay put and start to organize her life. Then, maybe then, I'll receive word on how things are going.

Miss ya kid.
Rella

Take it... like a Woman!

I'm back to blogging... can you tell I've hit an idea that won't let go ? :)

Anyway, Demented Michelle had a post on today that really made me think. It made me think about my own Theory of Pain. Labour pain for the moment, but pain in general too. Why is it that some people are so sensitive to pain, while others aren't? Why is it that some people can "take" so much more than others? Well, I'm hardly a researcher with all the answers, but I can relate my own tales.

For me, I have a high tolerance to pain. Why? I think it has to do with genetics, and also how my family perceives pain. I know, sounds wonky, but stay with me. My family is hardly ever prone to hysterics. We are a very "even" bunch. We don't fly off the handle when bad things happen - quite the opposite, we put our heads down and get things done. I remember when my father died, my family was in tears yes, but none of us were slobbering through the service or otherwise. We got through it, we bonded together, we were together all the time - helping each other silently.

When I was young, if someone was injured it wasn't a big deal. I remember skinning my knees or cutting myself, and never did my mother make a fuss. She just talked about how we had to take care of it, and clean it up. It would be all better. I didn't even get any candy to make me feel better - that was up to me. I remember my father cutting off his finger, and I happened to stop by. There was my father and mother rushing around, looking for something to wrap it up - my mother was more concerned about the blood getting everywhere than the actual injury - mostly because my father wasn't yelling or screaming. I'm sure that initial scream happened, but then he was really calm. I drove him to the hospital. He didn't complain... well, until the guy who was stitching him up wasn't doing a great job, in which case he asked if he could give the guy a few pointers on how to sew something up right - all in his broken English.. :)

So, how does this get back to my theory of pain? Well, it's all back to that simple equation. Mind over matter. If you've been trained all your life to view pain as not a big deal - any pain will not be a big deal. It's something you work through, not something you try to mask. It's there for a reason, and once you get past it, it will go away.

That's how I view labour. After going through this 2 times before, I see myself getting through this with no problems again. Yes, I have started to prepare for it. I practice maybe 1-2 minutes of relaxation in the shower every day - nothing fancy, just practicing relaxing my body parts. I've gone to see my chiropractor, just to make sure that everything is in alignment. I sit properly - I take care of myself. And I guess my body has been practicing for labour with all these Braxton Hicks contractions that I've been getting - it's basically your body prepping for the big day.

It's also one other thing.... It's taking it slow. I can't imagine ever being induced into labour. It's like asking a person to start running full out from a dead stop. Very difficult. But, if you ask that same person to walk for a little bit, to see their target, to slowly start speeding up, then run full out, I'm sure it's a lot easier to get to a good speed. Why would we ask our bodies to start dealing with full out pain, via induction when we can slowly get there... getting used to each contraction, each stage, understanding how the pain is working, and what position feels better - instead of being strapped to a bed, unable to move, and having to get more chemicals pumped into your body to counteract the other chemicals that were pumped in earlier?

Hmm.. that's just my little rant. Do I plan on getting induced into labour? No, unless it's a natural induction via pressure points and acupuncture. Do I plan on using drugs for this one? No, I know that I can do it... and I've done it before... so I know that I can work through this one too. My body knows how to do it, my mind is getting ready for it... and I've done my homework and appointments like I should. Am I scared? Of course. You can't go through 9 months of gestation, and expect to be all smiles about the end. There are many uncertainties... but, the one thing that keeps me going, is that I've got everything ready. I know my contingency plan, and that makes me calm. I'm like a boy scout - prepared!

Before kids? What does that mean?

Now I've gone and done it! I've dropped off the kids and am now kid-free for a week!

Okay, bring you up to speed... I took my vacation days, but instead of taking a relaxing vacation, I promised to help a friend run a week-long children's camp. 56 screaming kids... fun. So, now I'm back. My sister promised to take my kid's to her cottage (northern ontario folk - read CAMP) for the week in exchange for watering her flowers. Good deal!

Now, I have a quandry! What to do with myself for a week without kids? Regularly I'd be working 2 or 3 days this week. But, thankfully my boss left me here, and I'm working every day. Yes, can you feel the sarcasm? ARGH! So, my days are free from 5pm to 10am every day. Yep, including Saturday.

What the heck did I do before kids? What did I do with my time? I mean the day dragged on Monday (long weekend). I cleaned the upstairs, and tidied the kitchen, and even had time to catch a movie. Weird. Yep, I should have cleaned the whole house, but who the heck wants to do that all day? Especially when you have the week looming ahead of you.

Yeah, I know... it'll be Friday before I know it. And we're picking up the kids on Saturday after work. Then there's the BBQ we are hosting on Sunday. oh fun.

Anyway, there's the update for the week. I go from 56 kids to 0... just wait... soon it will be 2, then 3. Ack! the messes!

Talk to you later!
Rella