Monday Memories – the
Monday Memories – the question is this:
Do you have a memory of being sick as a child? It might not have been anything more serious than a bad cold, or you may have had your tonsils out.. it could be anything. What do you remember?
I was always sick as a kid. I had bad tonsils and was poised to get them taken out (and man was I excited about the ice cream… little did I know it’s not worth it!) but it was right at the time when “they” decided that too many kids were getting their tonsils out unnecessarily so they canned my surgery. I ended up having them out when I was 19, which was no fun at all.
Whenever I got sick, my mom would bring me tomato soup made with milk, and Ritz crackers. She’d put it on a tray and bring it to me in my room. To this day, cream of tomato soup makes me feel better, even if I didn’t feel badly to begin with.
I would always have weird dreams when I had a fever. One I remember quite clearly, although I was probably only 4 when I had it. I was lying in bed and watching a bunch of animals having a banquet on my ceiling. I watched them for what seemed quite a while, then ran to the bathroom to throw up. I didn’t make it, much to the chagrin of my mother. Looking back, I was pretty sick – I wonder if I was hallucinating. I certainly didn’t think I was asleep at the time. I’m not sure if that was the same illness when my fever was so high that I had to have an icewater bath.
I was home sick the day that Reagan got shot. I was only 10 at the time, so I didn’t understand the full import of what happened, but Mom did. She brought out all the things she had saved from when Kennedy got shot and told me about that time in her life and what it meant to her. She said that what she remembered most clearly was the funeral drums.
I miss being cared for and fussed over so much when I’m sick. I’m the mommy now, so it’s my turn to create lasting memories.