So I never thought I could be so happy about my little girl being able to blow her nose. She developed a sever congested nose over night and woke on Friday not being able to breath through her nose whatsoever, and continued that way since then. She didn't have a cough or runny nose and her sinuses seemed fine, but she couldn't inhale or exhale even a little through her nose. This has made sleeping very difficult for her for the last week and Sean and I have had very little sleep as a result.
I was finally convinced that she had a mucous plug (sorry for being gross) and thought that as long as I kept up the saline and used the bulb sucker that eventually I would get it out. Today, I finally did just that, and I got excited and teary eyed when she was able to finally blow her nose.
The last week has been hard, I won't lie. My nerves are almost shot, but we have been optimistic and done our best to teach our little girl how to be optimistic in a time when all she wanted to do was get upset and crater. I know that if it is irritating and upsetting for an adult to not be able to breath well, then it must truly be disheartening for a child.
She cried a lot at first. She complained and worked herself up and repeated, "I can't breathe!" over and over again at first. Sean and I continually explained to her that we already know she can't breath, so there is no use in her continually repeating it. We explained to her that when she says it, it makes her focus on it even more, and that perpetuates the problem. We continued to tell her that she is getting better and better every minute, and as long as she focuses on the idea of being well and breathing properly, she will continue to get better and better at breathing through her nose.
She had her moments when she seemed to give up. She buried her face in her hands, began sobbing and cried, "I'm never gonna be able to breath right." We expressed that an attitude like that would never produce the results that she wanted. I told her she was making herself worse by giving up.
I gave her a photo album of her first year and let her browse through her baby pictures. It took her mind off of her nose. I gave her a canvas and paints to create something for me and I made her watch funny movies. We read funny books. It seemed to help distract her. She was smiling all day yesterday and I knew it wouldn't be long before she would be able to breathe through her nose again.
This morning I pumped her up and made her yell, "I am getting better and better! I feel awesome!" She was in a positive mood and we had a relaxing and fun morning. Even when I had to suck the mucous from her nose little by little, she listened to my advice and focused on something else. Sometimes she sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow with her eyes closed while she imagined flying on the back of her Pegasus. I told her to think on all the things that made her happy. She really tried.
Sean and I never used the words "ill," "sick," or phrases like "feeling bad," and "can't breath." We didn't want to contribute to feeding those negative ideas into her head. We told her that if she wants to be able to breath normally, she must visualize herself breathing normally and functioning as she normally does.
Today, when the mucous broke free and she was able to blow her nose, I said, "See? Being positive does pay off!" She smiled so big and gave me a hug and said, "You're right, Mommy!"
Now, I realize she doesn't fully understand the concept of the law of attraction, but she is learning. And I questioned why this happened to her at first, but I know that the only way for her to truly learn things is to be tested- to be put right in the middle of a trying situation. We have to have a REASON to choose, in order to choose which way we want to go and which way we want to think. No one ever learned endurance and how to be positive in the face of adversity by avoiding the storm.
It sucked seeing my daughter in so much distress for a few days, but it gave her the opportunity to learn a really great lesson on a scale that she can handle... a lesson that most adults haven't even learned yet... and that is that thinking negatively, expecting the worst, and focusing on the problem instead of the solution never got anyone anywhere. Having a positive mindset can ONLY help you, and it WILL if you are determined to feel good and be well.
My hope and belief is that by the time my children are teenagers they will have mastered their thoughts and emotions. They will understand that no one can make them feel any way they don't want to feel. They will know they have the choice to feel good or bad and have the choice of what to think. I have faith that they will be leaders and not followers and set a positive example for their peers; an example of true self control and peace of mind. They will reach for something and grasp it because they will realize that whether health, wealth, love or happiness, THEY have the power to create their lives how they want.
Sometimes you have to make your own road to get where you want to go.
