Tuesday, August 14, 2007

"I think I need a thermometer"

After a "weekend of wilderness fun" - or at least controlled camping environment fun! - we are slowly unpacking the bags, moisturizing our sunburns, and trying to figure out what kind of cake we can do to even come close to being as cool as the one Uncle John and Aunt Michelle made for the Rahija Birthday Campout Weekend! Erin had a blast at Clinton Lake this past weekend, after a year of planning, inviting, and painstakingly waiting, her dream was fulfilled. She played so hard in the water, that I think she started developing scales. She is so brown, and her hair is quite a bit lighter as well. She was so tired that she fell asleep on a couch before worship service, slept through the music practice, through the service, and through the furniture re-arrange that happens after service and before the meal.

Today, we had a not-so-fun day, as Erin woke up "feeling really yucky." Thirty minutes later she was hunched over a bucket, watching Toy Story. I, for one, was impressed. She turned her head to the side to heave, and never broke eye contact with the television. I wiped her mouth with a washcloth, dumped her bucket, and returned it to her, where she held it at her side until it was needed again later.

She is such a good little trooper. I think the funniest thing about Erin being sick is that she gets far more panicky about the thought of having a fever than throwing up or having a tummy ache. I felt her hot little head and told her that she had a fever, and she nearly went into a panic attack. Later this afternoon, she ambled upstairs and flopped on a chair and said in a very dramatic voice, "I am so sick that I think I even need a thermometer." I asked why she thought that, and she told me that thermometers help sick people feel better. She knew that on good authority because her grandma is a nurse. Well, we did indeed have a thermometer, and put it to use, healing the sickness right out of that girl. We also prayed and sent her to bed at a good time!

Only time will tell if the thermometer is a healing agent ... I have to say I'm embarrassed to say I did not know of this healing measure - and I lived with the thermometer expert for 20 years!