Being a granny’s baby gal all over again
I have been sick the past couple of days. You know the usual cold, cough, flu and the works. It just has to run its course and there is nothing that can be done to make it disappear. Me being the independent gal she has been for the past 3 years has faced enough of these colds to know what works for her and what does not. Pop in Advil cold and sinus tablets and goes through boxes of Kleenex as if there is no morrow. R being the loving husband he is, finds himself helpless and tries in his own way to make this easier for me. Making cups of hot chai or giving a good massage to help her aching body.
But this time around when I started showing the first symptoms of cold, granny was right behind me dispensing her practical advise learnt over the years as she wiped off the snotty noses of too-many-siblings, 2 children, 4 grandchildren and other assorted people. It is quite different to have someone take care of you after being on your own. She was there applying Vicks on my forehead and nose and urging or rather ordering me to take deep breaths and not to let the stream escape as I covered my head with a towel and bend her head into a bowl of boiling water, willing the stream to take away my cold. She stood next to me and everytime I came out of her burkha (as I call it) she was there wiping away the sweat and applying more Vicks and recalling childhood incidences.
Granny raided my pantry for whatever can be converted to herbal medicines and she found stuff that really did help me. She was there ordering me to wear thick clothes on a day when the mercury touched 84F and telling me to plug her ears with cotton as I headed over to work. It was a touching scene. Yes! I did a lot of eye-rolling!
Granny could still see me as her first born grand kid, a kid and I saw myself as a 20 something grown-up who knows how to take care of myself. And this was one of the times I realized the miles that separated us. Had we lived in somewhere close by family would be there to take care of me the second they knew I was sick. But unfortunately we live across the seven seas as granny puts it and the travel in itself is a torture. How I wish we were closer..
Don’t get me wrong here. R goes the extra mile to make me feel better when I am sick. He does the chores and is there getting whatever she wants. But seeing me sick and tired makes him feel worried and you could see the worry lines lining his face as I gets into her sneezing or coughing bouts. He feels helpless and it hurts him to see me in pain.
But with granny it is different, she has seen numerous colds and fevers and knows what does the trick and with whom. She knows it takes time and knows miracles don’t happen when you are sick. She knows it takes time and soon I’ll be better.. Meanwhile I am enjoying being sick and having granny look after me.
Pooh
July 4, 2007 at 1:25 amThanks Kavi! V is recovering!
Kavi
July 3, 2007 at 8:50 amI hope all works out well for V ! The love of a grandmother ! Best seen when you are down. Otherwise seen when you are up !
touching read !