Let it go

July 24, 2013 ~ One of the major struggles we have is with basic hygiene. Every day requires constant reminders. Brush your teeth. Take a shower. Change your clothes. It's just part of the illness, but it's pretty hard to take a 19 year old and throw him in the bathtub against his will so some days it's an all day conversation.

Because of that, we have been in a constant battle of the wills lately over a haircut. I even resorted to telling him that he looked like a crazy, homeless man. (Sorry for that.)

The more I push the more he resists. Today I was told by him (in a very loud voice) to "stop nagging".

OK. Fine. Those Buffalo Ranch Doritos you just asked me to pick up at the store? Forget it. (Yes, we're getting a little edgy around here over his hair.)

So I went off to run some errands. And there, in the most random of moments, I realized what the problem was.

The problem is not his hair.

The problem is that his unwillingness to get a haircut is a symbol of his inability to care for himself like a normal 19 year old. How very discouraging.

It's so much more than hair. I decided to let it go. I can't control what he does with it, but I can control how I react to it. It matters, but not enough for me to get all weird over it. Fortunately, he is very attached to his Colorado Rockies baseball hat.

So today's lesson is…. control what you can control. Forget the rest.