My Uncle Leo Moment

First, the good news: All three boys returned yesterday from Surin -- safe, sound and exhausted. Alec hasn't stopped talking about the "elephant land" they visited, and Nathan already asked by supper time last night, "Dada, when are we going back to Surin?" So all in all, their adventure (and Alec's first time joining the big boys) proved a mega-success.

Second, the best news: The guy who declared long ago that "absence makes the heart grow fonder" may have been onto something. Last night, while I tucked Alec into his own beddy-bye, he grinned and oh-so-casually told me, "I like you now." Trying not to let my head explode with joy, which would have been extremely inconvenient, I replied, "Oh, I'm glad. I love you, too, mi amor." Then I blanched, expecting him to snap back, "I said I like you, Mommy, not love you!" But Alec just nodded, kind of like, yeah, that's right, all's well, as he snuggled under his cozy blanket. Ahhh.

Now here's the bad news. Bad for me, but maybe good for you readers. If my misfortune can make a few of you chuckle, then it will not have been in vain. Remember that facial I'd been fantasizing about during my free-mommy time? During the cursed event yesterday, the person working on my face started doing something in the eyebrow area. No probs, I thought. My brows have been looking a little woolly lately. Cool that's she's taking care of that as part of the facial price. She wasn't plucking or waxing. I think she was using a mini-razor contraption to scape away (what she thought were) unwanted brow hairs. More typical exfoliating, toning, etc., followed that, so I forgot about the brow activity. I paid up and hurried home to be able to greet my boys on their return.

They got back, huzzah! and all that. While Pedro was unpacking their kit, I chanced to look in the mirror and...realized that the lady had removed nearly all of my eyebrows! She left me with tiny brow slivers that belong on the face of a six-year-old! And to top it all off...the right brow is slightly higher than the left one. Gaaaa!

This is nothing. It's water under the bridge. It's hair, it will grow back, and if it doesn't, well, plenty worse can happen. So I am not complaining. Rather I stand amused and, in future, will be wary about people mucking about unbidden among my brows.

Actually, I should thank the lady who did this, because for the next few weeks, I can make myself laugh just by looking in a mirror. My assymetrical brows should remind "Seinfeld" fans of the episode in which Uncle Leo's eyebrows get singed off and Elaine tries to draw them back on with magic marker. The new brows make him look depraved. "Now settle down, Leo, there's no need to get angry," the doctor cautions. "But I'm not angry!" Uncle Leo protests, unaware of how mental his brows look. "Hey, now, no need to get all worked up!" the doctor says. "But I'm not worked up!" a confused Uncle Leo insists.

Pedro says my arched, higher brow makes me look perpetually skeptical. So please consider this a disclaimer to anyone who runs into me in the next few weeks. I'm sure you're telling the truth, I believe you, you are trustworthy. If you're feeling doubted or questioned while chatting with me, just blame the brows.      

Comments

[sarah]

I did a sort of in reverse eyebrow treatment in Singapore. I am blonde. My eyebrows are blonde. And with a tan they sort of disappear. So I visited the local beautician explained exactly what I wanted. "Now you won't make them too dark will you." I must have said this about 20 times. "Not too dark, please." Anyway, I crept home with my fingers stuck firmly over two dark brown caterpillars crawling over my forehead ;)

[Lyle]

sarah, what a HOOT! oh, you poor thing, how embarrassing -- and frustrating, after you TOLD them not to do them too dark. you must have been muttering to yourself as you stumbled home, "i said, not too dark. didn't i? maybe i didn't. but i did! am i crazed? ack, now i'm talking to myself. or rather, to the caterpillars crawling above my eyes. aaaagh!" your story puts my tiny but appropriately tinted brows in perspective. thanks for sharing your own asia-facial-hair story; what a giggle!

[Elemmaciltur]

Okay, I think I'll just stick to plucking my brows myself. Have been thinking about getting it done at the hairdresser's the next time I'm there...but after reading this..well, let me just say that I'm having second thoughts.

[tregen]

I laughed. Sorry.

[jaya]

newhere i cud get my eyebrows threading in bangkok....???
pls mail me if u know of nething..
jjamrani@gmail.com

Thanks