Wigs and things
I hate surprises. I should qualify that. I hate sudden, negative change and so I learned that sometimes it is best to prepare for the worst. That way, things never seem as bad as I had imagined them to be.
This has been my strategy with this cancer thing from the beginning. Writing this blog forces me to remember that some of my friends reading it are having far more serious health problems than I, and also, that several have successfully overcome breast cancer. If they could put up with this awful, overwhelming experience, then so can I.
I must admit that my positive outlook got a big boost this week with the arrivel of my son Tunde, who lives in the US, and who wasn’t going to come to Australia this year because of his work commitments. It was supposed to be my turn to visit him in his new home in Fort Lauderdale.
Well, it has been a marvellous week. My mother has always told me that when children grow up, the parent-child relationship has to change to one of parent-friend, and I have to admit that when she died, I lost my best friend in many ways. I think that on this visit Tunde and I have been making this shift as we discover how different we are as people, yet can accept and respect each other’s foibles.
Tunde has been a great help to me as I learned how to switch from the debilitating post-chemo fog and to assess my strength as I get back to living my normal life. When he arrived I was still only able to do a few things before fatigue overtook me. Today, I had a one hour walk in the morning, had a visitor at lunch time (more of that later) and then went filming racing pidgeons in the afternoon. Then I collapsed. Nevertheless, the difference between my energy level a week ago when Tunde arrived, and today is truly remarkable.
One of the negative changes Tunde is witnessing is my loss of hair. His pragmatism is impressive. His attitude is, we know it’s going to happen, so let’s get on with it and don’t fret about it. Three days ago I did go and get my hair cut short and the following day Tunde came with me and bought me a wig. Today we agreed that the hair is thinning so rapidly that it’s time to cover it, even though the wig will only be ready on Monday.
So, my habit of preparing for the worst has proven correct once more. It started in earnest about three days ago when I went on a scarf-buying spree. Since then, I have spent hours in front of the mirror designing and constructing interesting, but impractical scarf sculptures.
Having failed to stop my outlandish turban designs from falling off my head, I finally admitted to myself yesterday that I needed help. I called Hacer S, a member of our Jewish-Muslim dialogue, who wears the hijab.
Hacer arrived today lunchtime with a huge bag of goodies – scarves, bandanas, and pieces whose names I don’t know. We spent close to two hours creating masterpieces, including this 'Arab look with Tunde and the 'Cover Everything Look" you see here. There's more on the side link 'Scarf Carnival'.
Although my future creations will not be traditional anything, but more individualistic and complex, the session was great fun, and very educational. Thanks Hacer for your time and for your generous gift of scarves and associated accessories.
One thing I note with glee is that no matter how I do it, the scarves make me look younger. Maybe my glasses need adjustment, but I don't think so. What do you think?
This has been my strategy with this cancer thing from the beginning. Writing this blog forces me to remember that some of my friends reading it are having far more serious health problems than I, and also, that several have successfully overcome breast cancer. If they could put up with this awful, overwhelming experience, then so can I.
I must admit that my positive outlook got a big boost this week with the arrivel of my son Tunde, who lives in the US, and who wasn’t going to come to Australia this year because of his work commitments. It was supposed to be my turn to visit him in his new home in Fort Lauderdale.
Well, it has been a marvellous week. My mother has always told me that when children grow up, the parent-child relationship has to change to one of parent-friend, and I have to admit that when she died, I lost my best friend in many ways. I think that on this visit Tunde and I have been making this shift as we discover how different we are as people, yet can accept and respect each other’s foibles.
Tunde has been a great help to me as I learned how to switch from the debilitating post-chemo fog and to assess my strength as I get back to living my normal life. When he arrived I was still only able to do a few things before fatigue overtook me. Today, I had a one hour walk in the morning, had a visitor at lunch time (more of that later) and then went filming racing pidgeons in the afternoon. Then I collapsed. Nevertheless, the difference between my energy level a week ago when Tunde arrived, and today is truly remarkable.
One of the negative changes Tunde is witnessing is my loss of hair. His pragmatism is impressive. His attitude is, we know it’s going to happen, so let’s get on with it and don’t fret about it. Three days ago I did go and get my hair cut short and the following day Tunde came with me and bought me a wig. Today we agreed that the hair is thinning so rapidly that it’s time to cover it, even though the wig will only be ready on Monday.
So, my habit of preparing for the worst has proven correct once more. It started in earnest about three days ago when I went on a scarf-buying spree. Since then, I have spent hours in front of the mirror designing and constructing interesting, but impractical scarf sculptures.
Having failed to stop my outlandish turban designs from falling off my head, I finally admitted to myself yesterday that I needed help. I called Hacer S, a member of our Jewish-Muslim dialogue, who wears the hijab.
Hacer arrived today lunchtime with a huge bag of goodies – scarves, bandanas, and pieces whose names I don’t know. We spent close to two hours creating masterpieces, including this 'Arab look with Tunde and the 'Cover Everything Look" you see here. There's more on the side link 'Scarf Carnival'.Although my future creations will not be traditional anything, but more individualistic and complex, the session was great fun, and very educational. Thanks Hacer for your time and for your generous gift of scarves and associated accessories.
One thing I note with glee is that no matter how I do it, the scarves make me look younger. Maybe my glasses need adjustment, but I don't think so. What do you think?
posted by Unknown at 6:49 AM
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