“Mommy, I have gum in my hair!” These are words no mother wants to hear from a child - especially a 3-year-old girl with lots of hair. I lived these words just after we were all buckled in on the airplane 2 days ago.
I felt the Rolodex in my mind flipping through options: scissors, scissors, scissors, scissors, knife, scissors , Panic set in as I fully grasped the reality that I would not touch a pair of scissors for at least 3 hours. 3 hours of hair gum. Ewwww…
An attendant passed while securing the overhead bins. I interrupted his tasking and asked the dumbest question EVER.
“Ummm”. I stammered. “Ummm… I know this is probably a stupid question, but is there, ummmm, is there, ummmm any way on earth I could find something on this plane to cut this gum out of my daughter’s hair?”
I flashed a big “help me” grin. I knew the answer, but I still HAD to ask. Who knows, maybe an air marshal would see that this predicament fit under “Use your knife only in the event of an emergency” clause. Let’s be sensible - it was Gum Hair after all!
Apparently, the lady sitting in front of me had heard my predicament. She had heard my desperate, exasperated sighs in the moments before I flagged down Mr. Flight Attendant. Before I knew it, she was passing back - of all things a person could carry-on - she handed back a tub of peanut butter. PEANUT. BUTTER. Of all things beautiful! Of all things grand! PEANUT. BUTTER. Of all things she could have lugged on her shoulder! If anything had ever been stinkin’ beautiful - this one thing was - STINKIN’ BEAUTIFUL!
I scooped a bit onto my finger and began to work magic. It took a little time. Scissors would have gotten the problem out more quickly. However, now my daughter still has all her hair - and those curls. If we had been at home, I would have headed straight for the scissors. I always balked at the notion of peanut butter removing gum. Any skeptics reading this - doubt no more! It's like butta' (say it like you're a mob boss). In fact, it's Peanut Butta’.
If my daughter ever gets to chew gum again (maybe when she’s 30) and she gets it in her hair… I’ll go for the peanut butter first. Oh, and maybe I’ll start packing a tub of peanut butter in my carry-on,
HEE HEE HEE. This is probably one of the best posts you’ve ever written. I am so glad Livy got to keep her curls.
My Mia also got gum in the hair. Waist length beatiful hair. I went straight for the scissors. Now she has waist length, layered, beautiful hair! ;-)
Why on earth would anyone have peanut butter in their carry on bag???? That’s a really strange and wonderful coincidence. Great story!
I can hardly believe that
a) any passenger would be carrying a jar of peanut butter
b) it would be the passenger right in front of you
c) she’d hear and understand your problem
d) she’d want to let you stick your finger in her jar of peanut butter
Wow, totally amazing. You didn’t embellish this story at all? ;-)
What Katherine said.
That is awesome that she had peanut butter. I would never carry any, but that’s just me.