Of baldness and big girl panties

So I thought I'd share some bald lessons with ya today. Things you never knew, and probably never occured to you, about being bald.

*bald is cold. Someone told me this early on, and it is so very true!
*wigs don't protect against the cold. I have one "cheap" wig, and it actually keeps me warm, but the other "higher quality" wigs loaned to me, the wind whistles right through those hairs to my little bald head!
*if you are bald and go out in the rain, you NEED an umbrella. You see, with hair, you fluff it up, and it dries. With a turban or scarf, it gets wet, then the wet SITS on your little bald head, and unless you carry a spare, you are just cold and wet. Thank goodness my Dad had an umbrella in the back seat yesterday.
*if you used to depend on the state of your hair to tell you when to shower, bald can be a bad thing.
*when you are bald, makeup becomes very important
*being bald frees you from so much: shampoo/conditioner, hair clips, ponytails, brushes/combs etc. No more bad hair days!!

Now for the big girl panties. The same lady that told me "bald is cold" told me about the quote "sometimes you just have to put on your big girl panties and deal with it". I think that's the point where I fall right now. I know (maybe) what to expect from my treatments and shots and such, and I just have to find those big girl panties and deal with things.

Daily I'm reminded that I can't do what I used to do, that I don't have the energy I used to have, and it is SO VERY frustrating. Just dropping off/picking up a child for a class/playdate/whatever is so exhausting--and I'm not talking about me even getting out of the van, just driving! I go to do some dishes, and I'm pooped, need a rest. I used to drive one girl over to a friends house to go horseback riding, come back home, homeschool the rest of the kids, supervise violin practicing, drive another child to Spanish classes, do laundry, cook dinner AND lunch, run kids to the store as well as help oversee a homeschool group, and still have energy to go for a walk with John at night. Now I have to just save up energy to go for half a walk, and put everything else on hold till tomorrow. Some days it's even too much energy to sit at the computer and pay bills/reconcile the checkbook.

So, today I'm in search of my big girl panties. Need to put those on and stop whining about what I CAN'T do. I praise God that I am still here, that there is hope for the future, and that in a while, all this will be a distant memory. I still have 5 beautiful children that (for the most part) help me out, and a husband who is working his regular job, just to come home and do half my share around here too.