Saturday, March 28, 2009

The White Brush

Yesterday was like any other weekday for me and Lilly. We played, I did some work on the computer, I attempted to clean up after the world's messiest toddler (she is seriously soooooo messy) and I made us lunch and put Lilly down for her nap. Shortly after her nap, I got a headache. That headache soon turned into a migraine which is something that I used to get a lot of in high school and college but have been lucky for the most part that they've pretty much been phased out of my life. Typically when I get a migraine, nothing really helps other than lying down and drinking some Pepsi. This migraine though, wanted to stay with me throughout the afternoon and didn't feel like leaving. Later in the evening, I decided to close my eyes and just rest, hoping that it would help (I have a hard time sleeping when I have a migraine.) Lilly, recognizing that something was off, came over to me, sat down beside me and started kissing my head and gently rubbing my hair back and forth. In that moment, I was brought back to my childhood. The sensation of her rubbing my head calmed me and soothed me, and within thirty minutes my migraine was gone.

It's that soothing feeling that my mother must have loved when she had me and my sister brush her hair while she was on the couch. We'd grab the white brush from the bathroom, the white brush that my Grandma Schlie would buy whenever we needed a new one that could only be found in the store in Walton, NY down near camp. I can't even begin to remember how many soft bristled brushes we went through as kids, but it was the only brush we ever used. Countless nights me and my sister would brush our mom's hair for $1 to make her feel better. We always used to ask her why she liked having her hair brushed and we never understood why she liked it so much, but I guess as a young kid getting $1, we probably didn't really care what the reason was. It wasn't until last night, that that feeling came over me. My child, who at two and half years old knew that something was wrong with on her own, soothed me and made me feel better. I don't remember whether my mom had headaches or if it was just when she had a tough day at work (I know I can remember that she didn't like one of her co-workers very much!) but I now know that it soothed her and made her feel better. It's silly memories like those that I hold close to my heart as I'm sure my sister does. My dad still has a white brush, which I'm sure has survived this long because me and my sister don't use it on a daily basis to brush our thick hair. SHHHHHHH.......I have a secret......every now and then when I'm home I brush my hair with his brush just to bring some old memories back!

Anyways, I just type up this stuff to not only get it off my chest, but to remember the little things and I feel a lot better just saying it all out loud!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Awww. That is so sweet. Brought tears to my eyes. :(

Anonymous said...

The brush is a Lady Catherine by Stanley.
I remember both you and your sister brushing your mothers hair. She would lay on the couch and you would sit near her head and brush for a very long time. This simple act of caring was very important to her and she often told her friends how much she enjoyed it. A simple bond between a mother and her children. We have two of the brushes and someday they will belong to you and your sister.

Enjoy the moment!! Dad

Robin said...

Oh how sweet! :) This sounds like a story to scrap, Carrie! Hope you're feeling better.

Unknown said...

Wow Carrie. I barely made it through your story without tears, but your Dads comment put me over the edge!

Anonymous said...

OMG...when I close my eyes I can see the moment. Thanks for the tears! And Dad (who hardly remembers what day I was born, but he does know thw month!) remembers what kind of brush it was! How funny. Thanks for writing that...
Love, Betsy