A Voice Of Reason

If you've read, "After This...", I hope you'll remember my favorite nurse, Barb. Come to think of it, she makes a few appearances in "The Other End Of The Stethoscope", too!

A little over a year ago, Barb lost her youngest son, Mark, to a rare form of cancer. He was 24.

When Mark made the choice to discontinue all treatments and let nature run it's course, Barb and the DeWalle family quickly set up:

www.MarkDewalle.com

This blog and web site was a clearinghouse for telling friends and family about Mark's condition, moods, etc. Since his death in June of 07, Barb has continued her blogs about memories of her Mark (I'm her other Marc.) It's therapeutic and helps her remember just what the family has gone through and survived.

Today, she posted a cute story I'd like to share with you...

When Barb's Mark was only two, the family got a new, beautiful sofa. Barb adored this new piece of furniture, so of course, it got messed up. When Mark was left in the living room alone for a few minutes, he found a few Magic Markers and started to "write" on the sofa(or maybe he was drawing pictures-kinda hard to tell with a two year old!)

Barb was livid, as you can imagine! In her own words, "That was the closest I ever came to hitting one of my kids!" Instead of a spanking, she scooped Mark up, put him on the front porch in the rain and made him stand at the screen door until she was finished scrubbing the couch. While Mark stood in the drizzle, her older son, John, came home. Although he was just an elementary schooler, John was the voice of reason: "Mom, why don't you just turn the cushions over?"

God, I hate it when little kids can outthink me! I bet Barb did, too!

But c'mon! We've all gotten so worked up over something that we simply lose all perspective! Barb did. I have. You, too, probably!

Sometimes, when we're so emotional, it takes the voice of a child to show us how ridiculous we're acting. Please remember this next time your temper hits the boiling point-I know I will!