I know you've heard the statement, "I don't sweat . . . I sparkle!". Bull hockey! Whoever made that statement famous has never sweated like me and my family. It's the family curse, if you will. Thanks, Mom AND Dad. I didn't have a chance to be a normal, non-sweating person. With two parents who perspired profusely, I was destined to follow suit. And this isn't a condition that hit me during the big "Pause". Nope. I've been blessed to have overactive sweat glands since childhood. However, it seems that the older I get, the worse it is. Bummer.
I searched the web tonight and now I have the official name for my condition: Primary Focal Hyperhidrosis. Sounds like an ADHD child who can't focus on water. In my particular case, it's primarily my forehead and the entire circumference of my head at my hairline. Here's a common occurrence that happened today. I volunteered to help pack cookies going to prison facilities in the state. I was in a cool gymnasium and my job was to simply place 12 cookies in a brown bag. Not strenuous. Not taxing. Not hard work. So why, 15 minutes into it, was my brow wet, my hairline leaking "water" and my hair getting wet? Twice I had to excuse myself from packing cookies just to sneak into the restroom, wipe my face and try to dry my hair. EMBARRASSING and ANNOYING!!! Sure takes the fun out of volunteering. It is truly affecting the quality of my life.
In my daily world, I choose my plans depending on:
1. If I will be required to stay outdoors for more than a few minutes in spring/summer
2. If indoors, (in spring/summer) is it cool enough or (in fall/winter) is the heater turned up too high
3. On Sundays at church, can I make a strategic and quick exit if I sense my hair is about to drip sweat
4. If I'm away from home, where is the nearest restroom so I can "freshen up" (there is only so much one can do to wet, short hair and it is a false belief that short hair dries quickly
And heaven forbid that I ever wear facial lotion. That just makes me sweat immediately whether I'm hot or not.
Needless to say, I own very few coats and rarely wear one. I absolutely detest turtle necks (on me; not on others) b/c I feel like I'm choking and, of course, I get hot.
During most months of the year, I miss out on occasions that make me sad. I do not attend outdoor weddings. For obvious reasons. (Thank the good Lord that my three children married indoors!) I don't attend outdoor activities at church or in the community. I do love to walk for exercise, but even when it's quite cool outside, my face gets red and my hair gets soaked. I'm just a hot mess!!
This post is certainly not my usual style. No stupid humor. No light or crazy subject. But today I'm keeping it real and speaking from the heart. I'm seriously looking into solutions and/or treatment for my PFH condition. At least I have a name for it now. Dr. Andy . . . beware. . . I'm going to ask you for a referral!!
See my daughter in front? This was her reaction when we exited the corn maze. Let's back track just a bit . . . .
My daughter-in-law Michelle is wonderful in trying to get all of us together so the grandchildren can play and make memories. Her suggestion for Saturday was going to a farm. This particular one had a great pumpkin patch where the little ones picked their very own pumpkin. Then we went on a 30-minute wagon ride all over the huge property of the farm. Then we headed to the corn maze. (insert music from "JAWS")
At this farm there are two mazes: (1) for children, called the Mini-Maze and (2) a much larger and difficult maze for adults and older children. Well, the Rucker clan inadvertently entered the wrong maze. Mind you, we had six grandchildren (from ages 5 down to 19 months) and 7 adults (Andrea was in Canada helping with a baby shower).
When we entered what we thought was the Mini-Maze, we were all laughing and having a great time. We'd walk in different directions and then meet up around the bend. So fun. We all stayed together - trying to keep the little ones corralled. After about 10 minutes, all the adults verbalized that this probably was NOT the Mini-Maze. Hmmmmmm. This was a nice, huge maze; the corn stalks were at least 9 feet tall. The paths were well marked with fencing material staked along the path to keep everyone on the path. At that point we were the only one in this maze or at least we didn't see anyone for a long time. We feverishly tried to get out of this maze and for a long time. We soon realized that we were lost. Seriously. We didn't have a clue in which direction we entered, nor in which direction the farm was; we only saw beautiful blue sky above us and cranky kids below us. The three oldest grands (5, almost 5 and 3 1/2) were astute enough to know something was wrong. Two were worried and one was squalling!! All of us were hot, tired, thirsty and hungry. This is about the time that Abby's husband Matt went off in a different direction from the others. Abby was afraid she'd never see him again. We also met up with a family and their two teenagers. They, too, were frustrated and lost. Throughout the maze we saw signs with numbers. As we were discussing our options, we noticed the sign #8. My sweet DIL Michelle did what any modern-day young mother would do - she got on her cell phone and called the farm's office for help!!! Michelle told the office that we were lost and were standing at sign 8. At first our men thought it was ridiculous to ask for help, but they soon realized (when they kept walking in circles) that we needed help and NOW. Soon this wonderful man from the farm came and saved us. However, as we followed him for what seemed 10 minutes, he made at least 2 wrong turns! I'm telling you, this maze was a bugger!!! (I kept looking around for dead bodies.) At the end, we finally saw Matt coming to meet us. He chose not to re-enter the maze for fear he'd get lost and never see his family again HAHA.
Now we can laugh about it. Afterwards, we found a wonderful, shady spot on a hill to have our picnic lunch. The grands enjoyed playing in the shade after they ate. We enjoyed sitting down and laughing about our corn maze fiasco! Memories were made for sure yesterday!!!
One more picture of exiting the maze:
Can you see little Cady's sheer joy when she sees the exit??!! Priceless.
