Chicken pox.
One at a time, each of my children has been singing the ol' Chicken Pox Blues.
On the bright side, I'm turning into quite the chicken pox expert. Maybe I'll even achieve master level by the time the last spot has faded from the last kid.
The night before Nicholas broke out in the pox, we had just finished reading a short novel called "The Trouble with Chickens!" What are the odds, right? So, when he came to me the next morning, complaining bitterly about the itchy red bumps, I looked at him, smiled and said, "That's the trouble with chickens!" My poor baby. But, at least my little joke made him laugh and roll his eyes at me. And that, in turn, made me laugh! So, we managed to make the best out of a bad situation. Plus, I now have a new affectionate nickname for my biggest boy. I call him "polka dot".
Right before I sat down to write this, I had just made and placed in front of him his third green drink of the day. Luckily, I had my phone in hand and was able to catch his reply in this picture. In case you can't tell, he's saying "Noooooooooooooooooo, not another green drink! How many of these do I have to have?"
Well, the answer is, as many as I can get him to drink. I know that his body needs all the help it can get so that it can fight off the intruder and heal quickly, and green drinks provide loads of vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytonutrients. I also use ionic silver in my fight against the pox - twice a day by mouth, and sprayed on the spots, multiple times each day and night. But that's not all. Nicholas gets lots of water and Camu Camu, a powerful plant-based Vitamin C, all throughout the day. So, in spite of the fevers and itching, his skin is healing quickly.
My kids, like most others, don't necessarily appreciate healthful foods. But, good nutrition is a must when they aren't feeling well. It's easy for their bodies to quickly be depleted of nourishment, so it's my job to be sure that they are getting the nutrition that their bodies need. Even when they put up a fight.
Rather than starting a battle of wills, I prefer to find creative ways of getting them to eat and drink those things that will strengthen their bodies. Take the green drink, for example. I make up games to take their minds off the fact that they don't necessarily like the taste of it. We have contests to see who can drink it the fastest, or who can slurp it the loudest while drinking. Of course, I tell them that this is bad manners and should only be done during our game. Or we have the "drinks for" game. As in, this drink's for mom, this drink's for pop, this drink's for the dog, this drink's for the tooth fairy - anything that will get them to laugh and keep the situation from getting serious.
My hope is that, as they grow up, not only will they develop strong, healthy bodies, but they will also learn that their attitude makes all the difference in how they experience life events. Is it fun to have chicken pox? Of course not. Would they rather have a delicious treat than a not so delicious green drink? No doubt. But, by changing the focus from "I don't feel good and I don't want another green drink" to "Let's see how much fun we can have while we deal with the situation at hand", we get to take control of an unpleasant event and turn it to our favor. And that's a skill that will serve my kids no matter where their lives take them.
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