A "Day Off" with a Sick Kid...

In the middle of the night, Timothy (age 6) came in to my room crying because he felt sick. He couldn't tell me where he felt bad or how he felt sick, but he was clearly unhappy. We gave him some Motrin for his fever and spent quite a while after that dealing with his groaning and crying until he fell back asleep. At about 3:00AM, I called in sick, and I rushed in to school at 6:00AM to get everything ready for the sub I so unexpectedly needed.

I took Timothy to a doctor this morning and found out that he has an ear infection, strep throat, and a virus. After waiting a long time to get his antibiotics, I finally brought him back home and got him settled on the couch with some yogurt and "kid TV" (a term my kids use to differentiate shows they like from shows my husband or I prefer to watch). For the moment, both boys are settled and happy. Timothy isn't in pain right now, and Cameron hasn't yet gotten sick (the boys' doctor says he probably will in the next day or two). It's 1:00PM now, and I'm tired.

I recall being home sick from school when I was a kid, and it seemed like a relaxing experience. I would sit on the couch with my bowl of soup and watch television. I would read books or do puzzles. I didn't have any type of technology that is so readily available today: no laptop, no iPad, no iPod. But, since I'd never had those things, I didn't know to miss them. Those lazy sick days were great. Being home with a sick kid is a very different experience. It's not nearly as relaxing as my childhood sick days. It helps me really appreciate all my mom went through on her "days off" with my sisters and me when we were ill.

Timothy, Cameron, and I just finished watching an episode of the Berenstain Bears, and the lesson that Mama Bear shared was very profound: "Don't waste today wishing it was yesterday. Enjoy all that today has to offer." I look back fondly at my childhood, including my sick days, but I love the hectic and tiring adult life that I currently live. I have a job I enjoy, a husband I adore, and two perfect little people to spend my days with. Life with them is far better than I ever imagined it would be. Even when they're sick.

Young Love in Afghanistan... Parallels to Us?

I just read an article in the October 3rd issue of Upfront magazine entitled "The Price of Young Love" by Jack Healy. It is about the problems facing teens in Afghanistan who dare to buck the established system and date people they want rather than those who are chosen for them.

The article discusses a pair of teens named Rafi and Halima who are currently jailed because they dared to love each other. In their culture, parents arrange the marriages of their children. The groom's family pays a lot of money to the father of the bride when a marriage is arranged, so Rafi and Halima committed both a moral and a "financial transgression" (p. 7) by becoming romantically involved. They were in a car heading to the courthouse to get married when they were attacked by a mob. They were called adulterers and many, including their own families, think they deserve to be stoned.

I have a very difficult time understanding this situation. Rafi and Halima are teenagers in love; that seems to be the most normal thing in the world from my American viewpoint. I don't understand how parents who supposedly love their children can feel so strongly about and so harshly judge their children's choices that they think they should die because of a decision like this. It is easy for me to condemn their families as being backwards and perhaps even evil.

However, if I take a look at our own cultural experience, I can identify parallels in our culture. It wasn't all that long ago in the United States that persons of different races were forbidden to marry. I recall reading stories about black men who were charged with crimes or even killed because of romantic relationships they had with white women. Even though that is no longer illegal, there are still those who judge others involved in interracial relationships. Stoning may not be how it is addressed today, but the judgment can still be found in some places by some people.

Now, we are faced with a different kind of cultural taboo: same sex relationships and marriages. Although same sex couples in some places can publicly live their lives together and in some places can even marry, there are still many who feel that they must hide their relationships. Some hide their lives to avoid the scorn they might otherwise face; others wish to avoid the potential for physical violence. Either way, there are people in our midst who can't have an open relationship with the person they love.

I think the laws in Afghanistan need to change; people should be able to choose their marriage partner rather than have one assigned to them. However, I also think we need to do more right right here in the Land of the Free to make sure that all people are free to live the lives they wish with the people they love.