My mother, Kathryn Ellison Firth was a very good nursemaid when I didn't
feel well. She was willing to make special favorite foods, organize
activities to keep me distracted, and spend extra time with me which was
hard with her busy schedule of caring for six children and serving in
various church callings. She really made the myriad of childhood
illnesses; mumps, measles, chicken pox, etc. pass through each of us as
pleasantly as possible. When the illness or accident became
overwhelming, my mother used Grandma Mattie Firth as her back up.
I have a very special memory of a time when I had been sick for several
days but woke up one night with a terrible earache. My mother tried
desperately to calm me down and comfort me while my dad tried to get
hold of the doctor, but I was inconsolable. Within a short time I
realized I could hear my grandmother's voice directing my dad to gather
some items for her and then she was at my side with a large, thick, dark
book. She asked me to put my head in her lap while she read from the
"doctor book." I muffled my sobs because I loved listening to my grandma
read, but this wasn't the type of story I was used to.
She told me the book had been her mother's and they had used it many
times over the years to help them in emergencies. I don't remember what
she read but she soon laid a heated towel against my head while my mom
held my hand. Grandma quietly told me that I had a strep infection but
she and my mother would be there with me until we could get to the
doctor's office. She then started telling me stories about teaching
school and the students she had known. I don't remember if they gave me
any medicine but the feeling of warmth of the towel and the comfort of
two strong and loving women next to me is still as fresh in my mind as
if it happened yesterday. I eventually fell asleep.
Now that I have had my own children and grandchildren I realize that
these wise women learned their comforting the sick skills from
experiences they had watching wise women in their lives, and by
direction of the Spirit. When I have experienced hard times, I have
thought about that night and imagined those wonderful women were at my
side.
For a while I was worried I wouldn't have the strength or ability to be a
good caregiver because of my weak stomach, but I trusted the words of
my patriarchal blessing "... We bless you because of the cheerfulness of
your spirit that the Lord will give to you, different than the
Priesthood, but still the Gift of Healing."
My own children and grandchildren did not suffer from the same childhood
diseases because of advances in medicine but I have been through 4 very
active and fearless children who did have their share of illness and
accidents. My mother was always my backup and I always had her strength
and skills to get through those scary times. I bought my own doctor book
because as an adult I realized that my grandma's doctor book was
published in the 19th century and practices had changed. My children
knew I was serious about getting them better when I brought it out.
It was time to take grandkids to get flu shots yesterday, and my
daughter asked if I could come to help with crowd control and comfort.
It occurred to me we were continuing the cycle of preparing a new
generation of mother's and grandmother's to be great nursemaids in their
own families when I asked my granddaughters to hold my hand while I got
My shot.
