I have two children in my house (well, I have seven, but for the sake of this tale, I have two).
One fine morning one says, "Mom, I don't feel so well. Can I lay down?" When I feel his forehead, he has a raging fever! So, I tuck him into bed, give him some herbs and he goes to sleep. And he stays asleep the rest of the day, only waking when I bring him more herbs or homeopathics. He wants the light off, the room quiet and to not be disturbed. He doesn't want to eat or read or to be entertained. He just wants to sleep it off. And he does. He wakes up the next morning bright-eyed and happy! His illnesses rarely last more than 24 hours. He bounces right back.
Then there is the other child....
He says, "Mom!!!!!!! I DON'T FEEL GOOOOOOOOOOD!" And I feel his forehead and he might feel a bit warm but not much. "Would you like to lay down?" I ask. "I DON'T KNOW!!!!!!!!" he whines. So, I tuck him into bed and give him some kombucha and some homeopathics. He tosses and turns and gets up and throws himself on the couch and complains that what I gave him didn't help. "My head hurts, Mom! Please do something!" Finally he wears me down and I give him a half a Tylenol. About 3 am, I hear "MOM!!!!!!!!!! MOM!!!!!!!!!!!" in that desperate tone of voice. I race up the stairs thinking I'm going to find vomit or something. Instead I hear, "Mom, I can't sleep." Ummmm.......so you think I shouldn't either? I don't say that, but it's what I'm thinking. So, I make him a bed on the couch and give him a drink and some herbs. About an hour later he's in my bed tossing like a trout. His illness drags on for 2-3 days like this until he is over it.
Oh......I wish they could all be like the first one. But, it's blatantly obvious to both Gana and I that one takes after me and the other takes after him.
You can speculate which is which.
Wasting our lives and glorifying God
Notice God's unutterable waste of saints, according to the judgment of the world. God plants His saints in the most useless places. We say - God intends me to be here because I am so useful. Jesus never estimated His life along the line of the greatest use. God puts His saints where they will glorify Him, and we are no judges at all of where that is. ~Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, August 10
3 comments:
Ha! My kids vary in how they handle illness, as do my husband and me. I want to be left alone in a dark room and he wants to be babied, non-stop and is.... quite dramatic about the whole thing. It took me a while to learn that he feels so loved when I care attentively for him while he is ill. My oldest is like that. He was/is so high-need when ill and it was driving me nuts, when, once as he was puking, he looked at me with tears streaming down his face and wailed, "I don't know WHAT I would do if you werent here!" That turned it for me... I'm happy to take care of my needy sickies now. In related news, Fiala has been running a low fever for the last 24 hrs and she loves to cuddle nonstop when ill. I had of those moments last night, "I'd really just lime to tuck her in bed. She's infringing on my evening time with my hubby...." But I held her until she fell asleep and I thought, "Bless God, she's hardly ever sick... and I need to let these cuddles soak in to her while I can..." At 39 I find I'm taking a longer view on mothering than I used to, looking to what my kids will remember, long-term. I think the ones who need to be well-tended/babied while ill will remember, if I do that... even if it's not what I prefer... Even if I'm thinki g about the laundry that needs to be flded and tbe dinner that isn't getting made while I rub the sickie's back...
Ha! My kids vary in how they handle illness, as do my husband and me. I want to be left alone in a dark room and he wants to be babied, non-stop and is.... quite dramatic about the whole thing. It took me a while to learn that he feels so loved when I care attentively for him while he is ill. My oldest is like that. He was/is so high-need when ill and it was driving me nuts, when, once as he was puking, he looked at me with tears streaming down his face and wailed, "I don't know WHAT I would do if you werent here!" That turned it for me... I'm happy to take care of my needy sickies now. In related news, Fiala has been running a low fever for the last 24 hrs and she loves to cuddle nonstop when ill. I had of those moments last night, "I'd really just lime to tuck her in bed. She's infringing on my evening time with my hubby...." But I held her until she fell asleep and I thought, "Bless God, she's hardly ever sick... and I need to let these cuddles soak in to her while I can..." At 39 I find I'm taking a longer view on mothering than I used to, looking to what my kids will remember, long-term. I think the ones who need to be well-tended/babied while ill will remember, if I do that... even if it's not what I prefer... Even if I'm thinki g about the laundry that needs to be flded and tbe dinner that isn't getting made while I rub the sickie's back...
That's what ya get for marrying him! Overall I think you got a good deal, though. Hope everyone is well in your home right now.
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