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Musings
of a Senior Scribe
Old
Dogs, Children, and Two Boost Cell Phones
By Mona Lease
I
woke up Sept. 20th with Tom T. Hall singing
"Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine" in my head. Lots of unusual
stuff goes on inside my head - this was most unusual.
In
2009, I started Doula training. Doula is old
Greek for "She who helps." It mostly relates to childbirth
now.
They are licensed, but Ohio declines that. I had to go to Marion,
Indiana. Life
altering events hindered me from completing that. A Doula works with or
without
a hospital. She can deliver or assist. The main function is to keep
communication going, keep the Mother focused on breathing with the
contractions
- not against them.
Sprinkled
in with these thoughts were companies
who will "relieve us of the burden of our old gold, etc., from a
marriage
or engagement gone bad." And the U.S. Armed Forces telling
the
enlisted - "If you do not know what to do - do nothing."
The
day wore on and I got a sick feeling in the
pit of my stomach. Something was going to happen! I brushed my old dog,
vacuumed the house, and waited.
Then
I received "the text." A girl
whom I had been mentoring and bonded with, was in labor. In the
hospital, with
the labor-inducing" drugs IV'd to her; the labor stopped.
In
the room were the girl, her sister-in-law
(acting coach), and the Father. They heard words of C-Section,
something's
wrong, etc. The texts flew back and forth. God bless Boost!!
I
grabbed my cell phone, some juice and headed
for a quiet corner. I called the girl. I had explained to the coach
that she
would have to read the monitor (shows when contractions start to peak,
peak,
and subside), since they gave the girl meds to take the "edge" off
the contractions.
With
the cell on speaker and the coach reading
the monitor, I spoke to the Mother - Breathe in through the nose -
sniiifff -
out through the mouth - sheeewwww. Nice and easy. Long and slow. I went
through
a few contractions with her. I had texted the coach to tell the Father
to hold
the Mother's hand, rub her cheek, anything to create calm. We hung up
and I
offered up another prayer.
An
hour later I received another text. At
6:16 pm. Martin Jr. entered the world. He weighed 8# 11oz.
His head
measured 13 1/4 "around and his chest another inch wider - 14
1/4".
How
do all of these seemingly opposing ideas
relate? Around 4:30 am the next morning it all congealed itself.
Keeping calm
is crucial. When we feel threatened our body responds with extra
adrenaline for
strength and energy. We tend to breathe more shallowly, which is less
oxygen.
That is especially not good if you are "breathing for two." Panic
comes in holding hands with fear. Paranoia arrives searching for a
similar past
experience to be used as a reference point. Usually these "memories"
end badly, which escalates the panic-fear-paranoia "wall."
Finding
a positive reference point is the key.
In the hospital scenario, I told the girl to remember the sound of the
neighbor
guy's Harley. It had a low, distinctive, put-put-put-put. Breathing
deep and
easy gives much needed oxygen to the body's brain, heart, and lungs -
critical
areas to sustain life.
To
the "old gold" - the gold did not
lose its value. The "memories" attached to it are triggers. The
scenario is much the same - shallow breath, elevated heart rate; the
mind races
through every bad feeling searching for validation that we were not
wrong.
Before you sell the old gold on an emotionally driven basis - take a
deep
breath. Don't sell something that will increase in value, to be
"relieved" of a burden. Many things and people trigger bad memories.
The
Armed Forces training is obvious. If you
are not sure what to do - do nothing. Do not just "guess."
"Old
dogs care about you even when you
make mistakes. God bless little children while they're still too young
to
hate." And the Watermelon Wine? It must have been the Welch's juice I
drank!!
Remember
the kiddies and our service people. Be
good to the feathered and furry ones out there. Be safe and
healthy!!
Ever
Toodles!!
MONA
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