My sister! My sweet little sister and her family invited us for thanksgiving this year…or maybe we invited ourselves, haha. Even though Brighten started throwing up literally within the minute we arrived no-one complained about it. (And thank goodness it was there instead of in the rental car). Yesterday we watched a Magic School Bus episode where Ralphy is sick and he has to stay home and rest and they all go to visit him and go inside his body to learn about sickness. I got me thinking again, about something I often ponder. It was an interesting take on illness compared to now. Now days I feel like the emphasis on staying home from school is not on rest and recovery but more so that you don’t ‘get’ other people sick. Not one single time did my sister express worry about Brighten getting her family sick. She just had compassion and helped in anyway she could help her be comfortable and feel better. That is what I try to do too! In any case, we couldn’t help the situation anyway. I love the idea of taking back our health as our own responsibility rather than the responsibility of those around us. When you fear and distance people who cough or have a runny nose all it is going to do is make people hide their symptoms from you. At least that’s the greater phenomenon I see since everyone got all their germaphobe panties in a wad the last few years. What we should have learned is that no matter how paranoid we are virulent illness will spread regardless and we need to focus on our own personal resilience and immune system rather than trying to control everyone we come in contact with by shaming them for being sick and telling them where WE think it is appropriate for them to be while sick. Doesn’t that seem so much simpler anyway? One of the main stigmas that Jesus Christ rebuked in his earthly ministry was shunning people from society for their contagion. This is probably a topic for a Haws Talks Health Podcast episode for another day, haha so I won’t go on too much longer. I’ll just say: Thank you Emily for welcoming us into your home, for caring for us, for being a great example of taking illness as your own responsibility not outsourcing that power to those around you and also recognizing and reminding me that tummy bugs are a natural part of life- because if we had no immune system we wouldn’t get sick! The symptoms of illness are the signs of our body fighting back. Getting sick every now and then means our body is doing what it should. Never getting sick can be even worse than getting sick all the time because it means that our body is not fighting back to the natural exposure that we have to viruses. Thanks for letting me get that out haha. And thanks for letting me take these photos of your beautiful family. Here are a few of my favorites:
Also, Brighten requested these (below) and I’m so glad she did 🙂
Love love love!!!!!!