Ads are like a box of chocolates...

I was looking over the job ads on craigslist the other day - yes, I reek of desperation - and, low and behold, I saw this advertisement in the "Education" classifieds:

"Nit picker part time $30/hr OBO"


Battling the buggers is a horrible experience I won't soon forget (and I've become quite an expert at nit picking); still, I wasn't about to respond to the ad. I did feel a camaraderie with this anonymous poor soul, however. How desperate does one have to be in order to post an ad for nit pickers on cragslist?

So today I responded to the ad. Not to offer my services, but to offer my expertise. I wrote, "I'm not looking to fill the position...I battled lice with my kids a few weeks ago, so I know exactly what you are going through! Honestly, I wouldn't have been able to get rid of the lice had my friend not recommended [name of product]." I also offered to share tips that I learned from my friend whose daughter battled a stubborn case of the nits over the summer.

Surprisingly, I got a reply. "Thanks for the tip. I’m glad it worked for you. I used [the product] and it indeed does a good job compared to the other products out there. It won’t remove the nits, which is a problem with daycares with zero nits policy…"

Ouch. Well, what did I expect? That I would save the population from lice infestations one nit at a time? Via e-mail??

I wrote back, "Yes, so true. What a headache, eh?...Wish I could have been more help. Anyway, good luck!"

To which I received this reply: "Thanks! All is good now. I did find someone to handpick the nits. I couldn’t see most of them myself and when I do they kept eluding me when trying to remove… Dads have to know their limits…"

Indeed they do. Indeed they do. That is one brilliant father.

Moms need to know their limits too.