Disease

Lately I have been reading all about vaccinations. Why? It’s certainly not something someone who has very little interest in science picks up for light reading. It’s simply because whether or not we decide to vaccinate Emry (or be selective in our vaccinations), I certainly want to be informed. As my mother wisely said, “Just because every one else jumps off the cliff, will you?”

Vaccinations are certainly one of those things that most people do just because it’s been done for decades now and don’t you give your kids their shots when they’re 2 months, and 4 months, and 6 months and so on? And others don’t because of the risks involved with the stuff in the shots themselves. I know informed and trusted people on both sides of the vaccination arguments, and I’m by no means anti-vaccination or completely pro-vaccination. I just want us to make a wise decision for our little girl.

Surprisingly, I’ve found the information I’ve been reading to be very informative and not completely over my head. Of course, I have no idea what some of the things are that are put in these immunization shots. Nor am I going to purchase a medical dictionary to find out. I know enough to make an informed decision. But what I have found most interesting is the illnesses themselves. I’ve been able to read most of it and not itch all over, wondering if I have them. And marveling at God’s design.

Of course, disease was not a part of Creation. God made a perfect world. There was no illness, disease or death. All of this came after Adam and Eve sinned. Nor do I think that on that very day measles, mumps, polio and smallpox came into existence. Our sovereign God isn’t caught off guard by a “new disease”, but just like the antibodies in our bodies that “evolve” to fight off new germs that they haven’t seen, so disease has “evolved” to fight back. And as long as there is sin in the world, disease will never be defeated.

What I have found fascinating is how each disease is so different. One is contagious between people, another is not. One causes a rash, another has symptoms that can’t even be detected. Medication will help to cure a person of one, while rest and fluids is all that will help in the recovery of another. Most interesting are the ones (chickenpox, measles, mumps, polio) that once you have them you become immune to them. A God-given natural defense to the effects of sin.

It’s a rather odd comment to say I have found God’s creativity in the midst of disease – but I have. Just as God made each human being unique, so disease is unique and effects people differently. Sadly, what a disease can do to a body is just as amazing as what the antibodies of the body do to fight it off and heal. And all of that is proof that we didn’t come about in some Big Bang. There is a Creator. There is God.

A Marriage Mindset

I have been married a grand total of just over 14 months, so I am by no means writing a blog, telling people how it is and what they should do to have a wondrous marriage. Maybe in 50 years (if either Ed or I live that long which is very doubtful, there are still blogs to post and anyone cares to read what an 85-year-old woman has to say), I’ll write such a blog. But I doubt it. I probably will know more about marriage in 50 years, but never enough to counsel anyone on the topic.

Every day I live I know I’m married. Sometimes it just hits home more than other times. Like on Sunday. It’s the first time I’ve ever sat through a sermon series on marriage and actually been married. And it was a little odd.

Maybe all girls who are married navigate the waters of married life on top of navigating the waters of actually being a married woman, but I’m thinking those of us who get married later in life see these waters as being a bit stormy. Without realizing it (because I wanted very much to be married), I had come to know who I was as a single woman. I was more than a little accustomed to my independence, but I also knew my place. Now that I’m married, I have no clue where I belong in the hierarchy of womanhood.

Oh, I get that I’ve crossed the river and stand on the shore marked “Married”, looking across the gap to those who remain single, gazing with longing (or not) to my side of the river. But I had stood on that other side for so long, I’m still grappling up the bank on my side. For on Sunday, I’m listening to a wonderful sermon on Genesis 2 and God’s purpose of marriage with the same thoughts I’ve always had when a preacher tries to include single people into a sermon on marriage, “What do you know?”

I was struck by the fact that here I sit in the pew with a wriggling four-month-old on my lap and a husband sitting next to me listening to the discussion of marriage and feeling the pain of every single person in that congregation. Because I know what it’s like to be them more than I know what its like to be me.

I’m not yet adjusted to the women in church speaking to me like an equal – like I know something about being married or having kids just because I have a husband and have given birth. It’s very odd to me to be noticed instead of passed over. I have to shake myself every time a woman comes up to me and invites me to some event. It’s almost like I suddenly ceased to be a geek and joined the cheerleader squad. On the reverse, it’s just as odd to have single girl step around you because you’re married and they don’t feel like part of the club.

My mother once wisely told me that no matter what stage of life you are in, you can always be an outsider for one reason or another. She’s right. And all you can do is navigate the waters around you as well as you know how. Sometimes that means simply holding onto the mast and hoping you don’t go down with the storm. Other times, you can actually read the compass and see the stars. Whichever way, the plan is the same – keep going. So, I’ll keep going…and hope it gets a little easier.

Happy 22^nd Birthday, Charlie!

Growing Up

Emry has hit the stage when she is aware of some of the new things she is doing. She is observing the world around her, seeing things with must greater clarity. (Probably greater than either of her parents without their contacts in!) If we’re holding her while we’re sipping our water, she wants to try to drink from the glass, too. She rolls from her tummy to her back. And she is enjoying reading much, much more.

In fact, her favorite toys are her cloth books. She’ll spend quite a lot of time lying on her blanket, book in hand and jabbering to herself. She also loves it when I lie down next to her with a book, holding it up above us and reading to her. She will listen contently, turning her head to smile at me ever-so-often. I can only dream she will always like books so much!

Emry and her cloth book “Sleepy Bunny”.

As for rolling over, she has that figured out pretty well. If we put her on her tummy, she’ll put her left hand up in front of her so it’s out of the way and flip over. Now sometimes it takes her a little bit of time…and then she gets frustrated. (I have a feeling we have a slight perfectionist on our hands – wonder where she gets that?) Other times, she flips over almost as soon as I put her down. And while she doesn’t yet roll from her back to her tummy (she flips most of the way, but not quite all the way), no doubt we will soon figure that out, too. Then she’ll be rolling all over the house!

It Never Rains but it Pours

Not really sure where that saying comes from. It sounds like something Eeyore in Winnie-the-Pooh would say, glumly observing that the glass is always half empty. Oddly, this little idiom can be used both positively and negatively. It’s simply an observation that bad things (or good things) seem to happen all at once. It’s not like a summer drizzle, but an all-out flash flood.

I tend to use this little phrase negatively. This week has been a point in fact. It all started with Ed’s truck.

I’ll just say straight out that I don’t like cars. They seem to be so much more trouble than they are worth. I guess the truth is most of my cars run fine many more days than not, but when a not day comes around… And then you come to the point in time when you feel like you’re just throwing money at the thing like you have so much of it you burn it to keep warm. And for me, I miss the days in Minnesota when I just rode my bike go work – cheaper to buy, cheaper to upkeep and  burns calories instead of hard-earned cash.

Now, granted, Ed’s truck is fifteen years old. And he’s had it for nine or ten years. It has over 210,000 miles on it. And  besides the regular dents and scratches all vehicles maintain, a couple of other drivers have very kindly done some significant damage to it which had to be repaired. And like many older vehicles, it has some quirks – namely having to start it in neutral. It also doesn’t like the cheap, expensive gas at the pumps which gives it indigestion.

The latter issue is the one that has caused it to run awful the last few weeks until Ed threw up his hands and started taking my car to work since I don’t usually need it during the day. Then we took his truck to the shop just so they could let us know exactly how much more money we need to throw at it. They could only give us a ballpark, telling us what they could fix but then might reveal even more problems. We weighed the cost and decided to throw in the towel.

Next question is what to do with it. Do we try to get a little money out of it, being honest about its quirks? Or give it away? (Or pray someone just steals it and relieves us of the whole problem.) We went all the way across town the other evening (no mean feat in the city of Pittsburgh – it’s nearly an hour and a half round trip) to get it  - only to discover it won’t start at all. Somehow they failed to mention that in the diagnostic check we had to pay for. Disgusted, Ed left the keys in the ignition, texted his mechanic friend to tell him the problem and we went home. Good luck to the person who wants to steal it!

Obviously, we are still trying to work out this little dilemma. Meanwhile, the very next day, the check engine light comes on in my car on my way to work. Yes, I cried. Since it seems to run as usual, we haven’t gotten it into the shop yet (having only one vehicle is a workout in logistics). I’m just praying it is very minor. For having decided not to throw money away at one car, do we have to throw it away at this one?

So is life. Sometimes I just wonder if it might be easier without automobiles!