My two boys are 12 and 13 years old, and they are the rough and tumble type... especially my youngest. He has always been quite competitive with his older brother and all of his older brother's friends. He's spent most of his life keeping up, keeping active and being physical. I am the type of mother who says things like, "The dirtier you get, the more fun you're having", "Who needs shoes when you're running through the forest climbing trees?", and "Sure, you can climb off the balcony to the tree and up to the top." I can be over-protective in many ways, but when it comes to moving your body, connecting with nature, having fun and pushing your limits, my kids have free rein. It shows in their agility, flexibility and comfort in their bodies.
Sometimes accidents happen, and I have to always be prepared. My eldest has never broken a bone, (knocking on wood as I type). The worst accident he endured was playing in the ocean. We were in Costa Rica, he had finished a surfing session and was just playing in the waves. He hadn't noticed that the tide had come up and covered the reef and I was too busy having a margarita on the beach talking with a friend. Not my finest hour as a mother, I swallow my guilt as I share what comes next. I look over and to my horror, my child is making his way out of the water with blood covering his mouth and chest. At first I thought it was a nose bleed, but his expression told me different. He was in a shock-induced kind of pain. I dropped my drink and ran to him with a towel in hand. Pressing the towel to his wounds, I realized they were scrapes from the reef. He had dove into them. Deep scrapes covered his mouth and chest. We were lucky it wasn't worse, and there were no barnacles, but it took hours for his shock to dissipate. I cannot imagine how much it hurt. Lots of love, cold fresh water and emu oil, and he survived. I survived too. If you are a mother, you know it can sometimes be just as hard on us!
My youngest hasn't had a bad accident in years (still knocking on wood). But when he was younger, we had our fair share of hospital visits with this wild creature. Broken wrist, sprained wrist, branch in the eye ball! The latter was a scary endeavor, but all turned out fine, thanking our lucky stars.
Both boys have had their fair share of burns, scrapes, sprains, splinters, bruises, bumps, gashes, cuts, infections and wounds that have been dealt with by yours truly. My washroom emergency kit looks a little bit different than the one I had growing up. No chemicals for this family! We use Emu Oil for EVERYTHING. Burn? Emu. Cut or scrape? Emu. Bruise or sprain? Emu Emu Emu. It's anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory. It's also good for scarring! There's really nothing more we need.
But I do keep a few other goodies around. Neem Salve is wonderful on warts, rashes, fungus. Anything questionable. If we aren't sure what something is... Grab Neem Salve.
Soothing Oil is lovely for headaches, muscle aches, or anything that requires soothing! The smell of healing peppermint, and the feeling of the MSM, gritty on the skin, has replaced Vicks Vaporub from my childhood.
A few drops of Eucalyptus in a bowl of hot steamy water, with a towel covering your head does wonders on congested lungs and stuffy nose.
Here's what makes up our Modern Day Emergency Kit:
Emu Oil
Neem Salve
Soothing Oil
Essential Oils (see below)
Castile Soap
Ice Pack
Hydrogen Peroxide
Bandaids of all shapes and sizes
Butterfly Bandages
Gauze & Tape
Sprain Wraps
Thermometer
Essential Oils:
Frankincense- Boost Immune
Lavender- For insomnia, infections
Eucalyptus- Congestion
Peppermint- Allergies
Lemongrass- Digestion
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