This week has been a day-to-day observance of the worst cold I've ever seen on Grace. Her cough, reminiscent of a barking seal, has kept most of us up through 3 or 4 nights now. At times she seems unable to stop coughing for even a minute. Bedtime has arrived, so we will coat her with Vicks and dose her with cough remedy and hope for a restful night.
With all the panic over H1N1 this year, every time she coughs we get nasty looks from the people around us, and daycare has been shooting us dirty looks all week. For 3 years she's had chronic colds through the winter, and yet this year it may as well be the plague.
My children are being taught that hand sanitizer and needles will make them healthy, while at home we are trying to teach them that healthy bodies come from the inside. What a novelty.
I find myself ranting in my head to strangers about health and wellness, (thank you to Drs. Whittaker for planting those seeds), and trying to start a crusade to save everyone from the evils of the flu shot. Then I hear the nagging voice in the back of my mind that talks about getting an asthma puffer for Grace's chronic respiratory illnesses and others recommending some kind of anti-viral medication to heal her.
It's so hard to know what is actually the right thing to do. Nobody seems to have a happy medium, and I live my life trying to balance all sides and find a compromise I can live with. So far, not working so much in this case. I guess I need to decide if we're going to live a natural, healthy lifestyle, and start eating and caring for ourselves accordingly, or go back to the idea of modern medecine being the cure for all ills, and continue to live our lazy, not-so-healthy lives.
If anyone out there has the answers..I'd love to hear them!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
November already!
Things have been pretty status quo around here, and after a round of colds for most of us, we are back in the swing of things.
Hallowe'en was a great evening, my princess Ariel and her brother the Power Ranger ran from house to house for the first block of trick-or-treating, they were so excited. Watching their excitement almost made up for the daytime chaos; how do you entertain two children who are counting the minutes until the god of candy opens his coffers? And the next question is, how do I make all this candy disappear without letting my children, (or me), consume it all?
With the imminent cold and flu season, the last thing we need is a bunch of sugar to depress our immune systems.
In other news, Jacob is thriving at school now, and he reports having two friends. This has brought renewed confidence in all aspects of his life. He actually jumped off the diving board at swimming lessons last week! (His previous experience with the diving board being one of 'keep your distance...'). He seems to have settled in, and now that things on the bus are under control, he is loving school. We get a monthly newsletter from school that outlines their activities, and I find myself feeling a little left out. I pry details out of him every day, but I am missing so many great experiences in his life, it makes me a little sad. He's so big and learning so fast.
Grace is loving her gymnastics and swimming classes, and now that she is watching Jacob play hockey on Mondays, has decided it's time for her to play too. We'll try a round of skating lessons again and see what that does to her enthusiasm. The last round of lessons ended abruptly after 2 lessons and a lot of tears.
Yesterday was a great day. I sat in amazement, doing my own thing (ok, I was catching up on missed episodes of Gray's Anatomy), while my children played together, without fighting, for hours! A day to be marked in the history books! What a joy to see a future where days like this are possible!
My children are growing up so fast. What a precious gift I have been given!
Again, I count my blessings.
Hallowe'en was a great evening, my princess Ariel and her brother the Power Ranger ran from house to house for the first block of trick-or-treating, they were so excited. Watching their excitement almost made up for the daytime chaos; how do you entertain two children who are counting the minutes until the god of candy opens his coffers? And the next question is, how do I make all this candy disappear without letting my children, (or me), consume it all?
With the imminent cold and flu season, the last thing we need is a bunch of sugar to depress our immune systems.
In other news, Jacob is thriving at school now, and he reports having two friends. This has brought renewed confidence in all aspects of his life. He actually jumped off the diving board at swimming lessons last week! (His previous experience with the diving board being one of 'keep your distance...'). He seems to have settled in, and now that things on the bus are under control, he is loving school. We get a monthly newsletter from school that outlines their activities, and I find myself feeling a little left out. I pry details out of him every day, but I am missing so many great experiences in his life, it makes me a little sad. He's so big and learning so fast.
Grace is loving her gymnastics and swimming classes, and now that she is watching Jacob play hockey on Mondays, has decided it's time for her to play too. We'll try a round of skating lessons again and see what that does to her enthusiasm. The last round of lessons ended abruptly after 2 lessons and a lot of tears.
Yesterday was a great day. I sat in amazement, doing my own thing (ok, I was catching up on missed episodes of Gray's Anatomy), while my children played together, without fighting, for hours! A day to be marked in the history books! What a joy to see a future where days like this are possible!
My children are growing up so fast. What a precious gift I have been given!
Again, I count my blessings.
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