Everyone knows I adore my children and I also Love it when they go back to school.  Hey, even mamas need a break!  As all parents know, back to school can be a challenging time, health-wise.  All of a sudden combined with the change of season and little germ factories as school, new bacteria and viruses can be making their way into our homes rather quickly.

In our family, we are well prepared for the common cold, even the flu.  For goodness’ sake, I teach a class on this stuff.  We are practically pros!  One thing I did not anticipate is conjunctivitis. And, Yes, I got the pink eye from my kids.  I have to say, it is unpleasant to say the least.  So, how did a hippie granola mama like me get here?

 

Elijah brought it home from first grade.  We did really well managing without any kind of drugs, just cleaning the eyes a lot, doing black and green tea compresses, lots of kraut and lacto-fermented soda at home, and of course, the beloved neti pot.  One night, he got a little bit of a fever.  It came and went and his eyes seemed to clear up quickly.

 

However, almost immediately after, Remi ended up with the same thing.  She had the very mild fever, and very red itchy eyes.  We kept her home from school like we did Elijah and did all the same things, until I accidentally stuck my finger in my eye while I was cleaning hers….  I knew that I was done for it, at that moment.  It became obvious two days later, on a Thursday night, as I was about to step out the door in my disco outfit to go to a Halloween swing dance I started to have an itchy eye…

 

I decided it was best to stay home and not spread the germs around, besides I was starting to feel a bit crummy.  Friday, I had to cancel my morning yoga class and all of my client sessions.  Such is life, sometimes the universe has to give you pink eye to tell you to take a break or slow down…Ok universe! I am listening.  I promise!

 

So where am I going?  I think this morning, I am going to a place that seemed reasonable to both my mother, my husband, and my father –  to get eye drops from a doctor…. but no… I had to try all the alternatives first, I had to experiment and test other options out.  What can I say?  I am a scientist at heart.  My body is my laboratory. Everything I had tried has helped and has made me feel better, but now a third day later I am still stuck with red, goopy eyes and I think I may actually give in and bring myself to a doctor’s office.  Conjunctivitis is really not my area of expertise after all…

 

But first, I have to give a huge shout out to my dearest and most amazing friend and colleague, Abigail Thurston of Dance with Fibro, who came to my house on Friday night and tended to me like no one has done for me in what feels like forever.  She brought me gifts that probably only I can appreciate…she brought me pipet droppers and an enema bag.  She brought me just what I had needed – the supplies, the company, her brilliant mind and ideas, she brought a kind of humor, compassion, nurturing, and mothering that only she could for me.

 

As a mother, I can’t express how difficult and almost foreign, it has become for me to let go, and let someone tend to Me.  But how desperately I needed that.  I am so grateful for you, Abigail, supporting me.

 

So Sunday morning I wake up and find myself much better, but not healed, with a dilemma:  do I get prescription eye drops so that I can speed up this healing process?

 

And yes, I did.  So now I can take care of all of you, my dear clients and get back to my mothering nurturing self for others.

 

With love and gratitude for all the lessons in my life and for all of you for reading.
Raya
P.S. May the trees stand tall for everyone during the storm.  Practice your tree pose everyone, maybe it will help?!?  And – breathe…
Comments are closed.