Namine’s Christmas was something close to magical. We don’t have a lot of money, so her gifts would have been in shorter supply, were it not for the generosity of our friends and family. For that, we are truly grateful.
I had a monstrous headache last night. That’s not to say I didn’t have a good time at my sister-in-law’s house, because I did. By the time we got home, it was time for Namine’s bath. Normally, I let her play for a while – and I play with her. She often insists on dumping water on my head. But last night I could barely walk for the pain in my head. So it was the quickest of baths, and then on to nighttime meds and inhalers.
I have to steer off the beaten path for a moment and say that her inhalers have certainly been helpful this winter season. Namine is prone to croup – you know, that barky kind of cough – in the morning, because she has a smaller airway. But the inhalers have all but eliminated the nighttime and morning croup, which makes her much more comfortable and sets our minds at ease. Taking Namine to the ER because she’s having trouble breathing at 3:00 in the morning is certainly no picnic.
Anyway, back on track here. I got Namine in bed as soon as I could after meds, inhalers, and our nighttime prayer. By this point, Namine knew I had a headache. I had told her that that was the reason for the short, playtime-less bath. And she knows all about headaches – she gets them herself, sometimes. (Hopefully not as full-force as mine, though. But with her and her high pain tolerance, we simply don’t know.) So during our prayer – we each take turns – Namine prayed that my head would feel better. She had trouble falling asleep, too, because she was worried about me. And this morning, when I woke her up – she had an MRI appointment this morning, so I got her ready – the first thing she did was ask me how my head was feeling. I told her it was fine, and when I picked her up, she gave my forehead a kiss.
With every expression of love that Namine gives us, I can’t help but recall back to before she was born. Doctors assured us that the amount of surgeries and procedures would pretty much guarantee that Namine would detest physical contact, that she would never be a very loving child – or at least never show it.
They could not have been more wrong, and I could not be more glad.
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