Five minutes from home, I noticed a voice mail message on my cell phone.
“I hope you receive this before you get home but #2son is complaining of a stomach ache. He’s in the infirmary now and you’ll need to come pick him up.”
I just dropped them off at school 20 minutes ago. He seemed fine.
It figures.
I was raised in a Western Medicine household. My great-uncle was our pediatrician. My mother was a intensive care nurse. There are more nurses, a surgeon and a general practitioner.
So I go off and marry a man who practices Eastern Medicine. I could just have well married a man from Mars.
“Are you sure these herbs are safe?” “Why am I taking all three of these?” “What does this one do?” “What if I just took that herb?” “I’m supposed to take how many? Are you sure that’s the right dose?” “Will this react with anything else I’m taking?”
My husband calls me his worst patient.
It’s OK.
He’s right.
When we arrive home, I call my husband. I tell him the symptoms our 6-year-old son is experiencing and he confirms my diagnosis. Well, not my diagnosis, but the herbs that I was planning on giving him.
“What did Daddy say?”
“He said it sounds like a damp cold pathogen in your digestion,” I tell him, getting the herbs from the cabinet.
“What are you giving me?”
“OK,” I say to my son, “These are for your tummy and these herbs are just in case it’s something more.”
“Something more?” my son asks.
“Yes. More than just a tummy ache.”
“But what if it’s not? What if it’s just a tummy ache?” He holds up the second dose of herbs to show me. “Will these pills damage my body if it’s not just a tummy ache?”
“No, those herbs will not damage your body if it’s not just a tummy ache.” I’m fighting back the giggles.
“Are you sure?” He questions.
By now I’m laughing. I can’t help myself.
“You ARE your mother’s son!” I say.
“Of course I am, ” he quips, exasperated, “Everyone can see that!”
Yes. Yes they can.
(My week started out with two heavy posts so I’ve ended my week with some light-hearted family entertainment. I usually don’t focus on my kids too much here so if this isn’t what you’re looking for, I apologize. I suppose I’ve been spending some time lately counting my blessings. (And now #1son is going to wonder why he didn’t get any press time. I’d better start cracking!) Stay tuned next week for more thought-provoking words of wisdom. Or not. You’ll just have to wait and see!)
Theycallmejane's Blog 
What a cutie…hope he’s feeling better soon!
Wendy
Did he just have to poop? That’s usually the main culprit at Chez T.
When two worlds collide! Hope the tummy ache goes away.
Sunshine x
So cute! My son is almost that inquisitive, too. Luckily he also easily distractible: “Look! A butterfly!” pointing to a dust mote in the air inside our house. “Ooh! Where? Where?” Problem solved.
My kid goes to the school of alternative medicine-Waldorf. Essential Oil, raindrop therapy, acupuncture, Anthroposophical medicine (yes, I did spell that right–has taken me 8 years) to name just a few. Our offspring often say they HATE the smell of essential oils (can’t blame them when they have to sit next to the girl that just discovered a little lavender goes a long way) and one of my friends kids said recently as she handed out the herbs “Mom, when I grow up I am going to a real doctor, for real medicine.”
Me? I hand out a little of this and a little of that.
Your boy is a cutie! Hope he is feeling fine as frog hair!
Very cute! The story AND the kid! 😉
Nice light post Jane. Very cute! Love the pic at the end.
Aww. That is so cute. It brought me a smile. Thanks, Jane!
Sounds like he listens well and has picked up on the right questions to ask. He just might follow in his father’s footsteps. Cute picture too.
Keep writing about the whole range of human emotions Jane. This made me smile. Your posts often make me muse and one or two have brought a tear but I wouldn’t have it any other way 😀
I love the posts about the kids. And I chuckle about the different approaches to medicine. My son, the son of an Internist, married a Christian Scientist.
Hey…..like mother like son works for me 🙂 I think he’s got a fantastic role model.
This is too cute! (You have to love the way our kids absorb from us, and put their unique twist on everything.)
As for the herbs, having spent considerable time in France, it’s amazing how much more mainstream things like herbs are beyond our borders. Homeopathic remedies, for example, are common (and I’ve found – often work!).
Hope he’s feeling better!
We’re having tummy problems here too. Sadly they are the “I don’t want to go to school” kind.
And we think they aren’t paying attention! He’s a cutie!
Variety is good. Whatever moves you, that’s what you should write about.
Pffft. As if cute kid stories are ever inappropriate. And I’ll just suppress my knee-jerk supposition that people who treat themselves with herbs and essential oils are woo-woo yahoos. Because you’re not, obviously. Only… really? Okay, my automatically filled-in-email address says symaptico instead of sympatico. WTF? Damn, I stayed up too late again.
He’s adorable. But don’t tell him that, it would probably give him a tummy ache.
Oh Jane, he’s beautiful. (My daughter would have a crush on him if I let her see this post, and then she’d admonish me for calling him beautiful. But I’m not telling her. So, beautiful it is!)
Hehe. You and your son sounds a lot like me! I was told by a friend the other day who recommended a herb to me that I should just phone so-and-so and ask them all about it because she knew I wouldn’t be happy otherwise.
Aw, such a great photo ^_^. So, being careful about what you put in your bodies is a family trait! That’s a smart one to have, I’ve gotta say :).
Ilove reading about your kids.
I always rue the long discussions about what we do and don’t put in our bodies because of the potential effects, since my son is always asking if that chemical is good for us or not, if that food is just from plants or from scientists, or if this medicine is dangerous to our bodies.
See what happens when we talk to them? I gotta stop that.