Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Heating Pads & A Fuzzy Blanket



"If your stomach disputes you,
lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts."

-- Satchel Paige


Deflated smiley face balloon with push pin 2-4-15


"Peace in the head, peace in the stomach."

-- Jean Bertrand-Aristide



I had a really bad tummy ache yesterday.

I felt flat.

Like someone had let all my air out.

I spent the better part of the day lying on the couch with heating pads on my belly under a fuzzy blanket.

I ate toast and a very tiny tangerine, and then wished I didn't.

On a typical day, heating pads and a fuzzy blanket are just, well, heating pads and a fuzzy blanket -- ordinary household objects stored in a linen closet down the hall.

But when you're feeling all-over deflated and your tummy hurts and everything else hurts, too, some heating pads and a fuzzy blanket can be very comforting, like warm, quiet friends gently whispering "Sssh. There, there." They didn't take my tummy ache away, but they did relieve it a little. They made it easier to bear.

I know that in the grand scheme of things, a tummy ache isn't a very big deal, even a bad tummy ache. And truly, I'm grateful that a tummy ache was the worst problem I had yesterday. It's a lesser and more transient discomfort than the bone-deep pain of heartache, or soul-ache, or brain-ache, or mind-ache, or emotions-ache, or I-don't-want-to-be-alive-ache. I've experienced those, too. And you know what? Heating pads and a fuzzy blanket didn't take them away either. But they did make them ever so slightly, easier to bear.

Sometimes good enough is good enough.



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