It'll grow back

When Ali was little and her hair was long with bangs, I was her stylist. It was too crazy curly to comb when dry, so I only combed it wet, and when it got a little too out of control, I'd whack a bit off the ends and we were good to go.

No joke. Her hair is glorious in color, thickness, body and curl. I'm certain that it's because she's tired of people complimenting her, that she went asymmetrical in high school, whacking it really short on one side and leaving it longish (but way shorter than she'd had it) on the other.

It's a cute cut. When it's maintained.
Remember that Ali is the girl who in elementary school Febrezed herself rather than showering when I was on a work trip. I contributed to her lack of primness by pulling her tangles into a ponytail most days, and she hasn't really changed much even with the cute cut.

At Purdue, when her shagginess got the best of her, she had a friend cut it in the dorm bathroom.

"It's fine," she said.

When I picked her up for a quick weekend visit, she'd had another dorm cut. Once home, she disappeared into the bathroom to "fix" what my expression had apparently deemed broken.

"Uh, you have a bald spot," I reported.

"I'll wear a hat," she said.

Fast-forward to today. "Mom, my hair is a mess. Feel the ends. I have split ends. Will you cut my hair."

I looked at her. "Seriously?"

"Feel this," she insisted.

I promised only that I wouldn't give her a bald spot. As I concentrated and listened to her telling me not to cut, it too short, just to get rid of the ends and "Don't cut my ear!"  "Don't cut my neck!"

"Have I cut you?" I finally demanded.

"Not this time, but before," she said.

I haven't cut her hair since she was in high school, and I only once cut her finger while clipping her claws back. She carries a long grudge.

I don't have an "after" picture because she insisted on letting it air dry and since dinner cleanup (when it was still damp) has been ensconced in her room playing Dungeons & Dragons online with her friends. She's been laughing. 'Course, she doesn't have a mirror in her room.

But, hey. It'll grow back....

In other news, after two weeks in the basement getting over a cold that it seems like everyone and their brother in Indianapolis has had, I emerged healthy and ready for sunlight this weekend. I've bleached everything I touched, washed everything, including the family room couch and throw pillows and feel like we could safely have surgery down there.

I even made dinner Saturday night, cleaned the shed and picked up sticks in the yard. I'd put 5,000 steps on the desk cycle that came home with us from Maine when Jeff asked if I wanted to go on a walk. It was glorious. Today, I cleaned our shed and picked up sticks from the yard. My back hurts, but I'm back, baby.

My back porch office is ready for me as soon as it stays warm. Ali and Jeff had left a lot of her dorm stuff in there, but most of it's in the basement as she's home until fall now. One item I kept is a storage unit that she's decorated with stickers ala back when I was a news reporter and slapped political stickers all over a filing cabinet I still have. It's down in the basement. She told me it had inspired her to follow suit. So that was fun.

The first week of the past two weekends was our planned but corona-virused "Spring Break." Frankly, I don't know what they did that week other than bring me meals and wave from the doorways. Last week, I mostly worked and they found places to do their own school and office work.

Tomorrow dawns with three people needing internet access and the ability to focus on our various work. I plan to have the Captain at his desk in the basement, me on the back porch and Ali at the dining room table. The temperature may force me inside, but we'll figure it out.

At one point last week, Ali said Jeff and I were on separate conference calls on separate floors and "It was so loud!"

We've designated the downstairs guest room as the conference call/quiet space. If that doesn't work, we have my bedroom, I suppose. It's the farthest from the planned work spaces.

Based on my friends' experience with small children during this shelter-in-place time, I'm grateful Alison is in college and dedicated to her studies. I don't know what I'd do with multiple elementary or high schoolers. My hat is off to those folks who are keeping it all together.

To your left is Alison's math work -- two of seven problems she had to solve. Let me just say this: I cannot help her with her schoolwork.

She's still dedicated to research chemistry. I like to think she'll be one of the ones saving us from repeat situations such as we find ourselves in today.

Hope you're doing well in your new normal. And hey, welcome to my work from home world. It's harder with the whole family around, and all the uncertainty of how long this will go on.

We'll get through it together. There are so many examples of people reaching out to do what they can for each other these days. If you're in need, I hope you find help. If you can help, I hope you will. Most of all, I hope we come out of this giving each other the benefit of the doubt and delivering well on that trust.

Good luck this week and the weeks ahead until someone's found a way to overcome this virus. Stay safe. Keep in touch. But from a distance.

Like Ali's hair, we'll all bounce back from this.

💗😀💓