Summer is here and these days remind me of certain times in my childhood.
Although it was anything but normal due to my illness, my parents did their very best to make our family life ”normal” for my siblings and I. I remember taking a trip to the Amish country; I think is was a fair of some sort. I was very, very ill, about 8 years old, frail and heavily medicated. It was extremely hot and our days were planned around my strength and ability to function. On that particular day, I remember that we were all happy and walking through the fair, eating all kinds of new foods, at least new to all of us. I even got to pick out a piece of Amish art which my father hung outside our home for many years to come!
Just as it happened so often, one moment we were all fine and then the next, everything changed for us all. I needed to use the restroom or porta potty, and for me it was immediate, particularly due to my illness. Mom took off, holding my hand and running, looking for the nearest spot. How very sad for my dad and siblings to be “left in the wind” during this emergency, but this was common for them. A few minutes later, I barely made it, but we found a restroom. And that was the turning point of that day for us. Not happy anymore, because I was in pain; weak and sick in my belly. I cried, wanting to leave, and of course we did. Our family day was cut short as usual because of my illness and inability to do what normal children do. I always tried hard to “not get sick” but life was cruel to me and my illness always managed to ruin our days. My sister and brother reminded me of this often. We drove hours to walk about an hour and leave.
Can any of you relate? In particular, for those of you dealing with illnesses in your family, how has the sickness impacted days where you try to be “normal”?
