Book Entry 141: 1979 Chicken Pox

The Chicken Pox came home from school with Heidi.  She had an average amount of spots and a controllable amount of itching.  She actually looked good in pink spots.  We counted Heidi’s spots one afternoon.  She had about four hundred.  I told her when everyone was well we’d go to the Penguin Ice Cream Parlor for a banana split.  Somehow the promise of a tasty treat made the itching a little more bearable.

When I looked at Heidi I remembered the time in Mission Springs when the next door girl got into Poison Ivy and her mom covered her with pink Calamine Lotion.

When Heidi was through the worst of her Chicken Pox Adam started getting spots.  My poor little Adam must have had one hundred spots for each one Heidi had.  He had so many spots they ran together.  He had them in his ears, up his nose, and anywhere else you could imagine.  He itched horribly.  We didn’t even try to count his spots, he had thousands!

We pulled the cover off the pool and let the kids sit on the steps.  I figured the Chlorine wouldn’t hurt and might even help.  We took our little soaking times in the pool about 6 times a day for days.  Finally his spots began to lighten, dry, and go away.

Next was Robin.  Heidi and Adam were getting excited for an ice cream treat.  We had to put the banana split off to give Robin time to heal.  Adam said it wasn’t fair that he’d had so many spots and Robin only had a few.  I told Adam there would be no ice cream for Robin if she didn’t have at least fifty spots.  I carefully counted while Adam and Robin watched.  Adam was sitting in front of Robin and didn’t know when I was counting spots on her back I had to count twenty that weren’t even there for her total to get to fifty.  She only had about thirty spots.  

Robin didn’t feel like playing one afternoon when the others were in the pool.  She sat on the steps of the pool naming her chicken pox.  I thought it was hilarious.  She named one for everyone in her kindergarten class and her Sunday school class.  She named one for the preacher, her teacher, and even one for me and Larry.  

Her biggest chicken pox was right in the middle of her back. It was probably about as big around as a quarter.  It itched really badly and she could find no relief.  She named that one Billy Pox after a little boy in school who she didn’t like very much.  I thought that was hilarious!

 

All three kids sympathized with one another.  It was nice to see them helping when they could.  They all lived through the experience and the banana splits were well deserved and wonderful!