MountainWings       A MountainWings Moment
#1011          Wings Over The Mountains of Life



Babies Sick
============

My wife called me at work.  

"The doctor said Josees has strep throat," she said.  
"Not only that but I think EL has it too, he has been coughing 
just like Josees."  Josees and EL are my sons.  El is Nathaniel 
the 3rd's nickname.

She took EL to the doctor and sure enough, he had strep throat.   
Strep throat (streptococcal pharyngitis) is one of the most 
common bacterial infections of childhood.  My wife had been 
coughing just like the kids lately.  She probably has it too.  
It's pretty contagious from kids.

I took a deep breath sitting at my desk to determine how my 
throat was feeling.  That's a natural reaction.  It's like when 
someone dies, you subconsciously figure the difference in your 
ages to see how much longer you have.  There's no logical sense 
to it, you just do it.  Close death reminds us of our own 
mortality just as close sickness reminds us of our own 
susceptibility.

My throat felt fine.

We alternate in life between the caregiver and cared for.

Between the needy and the provider.

Between the healer and the patient.

Between the comforter and the comforted.

The Divine is the ultimate source but we are the conduits 
through which much comes.

There is an interesting but firm rule.

The more time you spend as a caregiver, the less time you will 
spend as the cared for.

The more you provide, the less you will be in need.

Science bears this out with hard facts.  Those that do volunteer 
work to help those in need stay healthier than those who don't 
do volunteer work.

A mother breastfeeding a child, giving of her substance will be 
more at peace than if using bottled milk.  Nature provides a 
release of stress reducing hormones that benefits the mother 
from the action of the child pulling on the breast.

I went to get some garlic.  Not for the family, for me.
I had it chopped up in rice and ate a whole garlic bulb.
It burned my throat but I also knew any strep that was there 
wouldn't live through that garlic.

Another principle, you can give care better when you are not 
hurting yourself, so take good care of you.

Put another way, a drowning man can't pull you out of the water.
Know how to swim and be in good swimming shape if you want to 
save others from drowning.

My wife does the bulk of the work handling the kids, especially 
in times like this.   This time I will make a special effort to 
relieve her as much as I can.

I take care of all of the financial needs of the family but 
there are times when kids need a longer than normal hug and 
maybe three goodnight kisses instead of one.

Garlic is good for the immune system but a happy heart is the 
best medicine of all.  My wife needs a longer than normal hug 
and maybe a few more than three kisses.

I will kiss her on the forehead though.

Who around you needs some special care?

Who needs an extra compliment?

Who needs to be told that they are loved?

Most of the pain in our lives doesn't come from bacterial 
infections.

It's the pain in the heart of emptiness, rejection and conflict.

Who can you care for today?

It will keep us both healthier.


A MountainWings Original

This issue following: Fear of The Thing

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