Sick Days Aren't So Bad

James stayed home from school the other day, complaining about an upset stomach. With teenagers, if they don't have a fever you never know if they have a gastrointestinal problem or if they just didn't finish their homework.

James lay in bed most of the morning. It didn't seem like he felt well physically, and I sensed there might be something going on emotionally as well.

Since I work from home, when the kids are sick it can sometimes throw a wrench in my schedule. But at other times I find it's a great way to have one-on-one time with one of my sons.

Because they were born so close together (my three sons are 17 months and 14 minutes apart—a single and then twins), one-on-one time is rare: so I like to take advantage of it when I can.

I took some orange juice up to James and talked with him for a while. As most teens do, my kids answer in as few words as possible, as though they may believe they will be charged by the word. The times this becomes most irritating is when I ask them an either/or question and I get the answer "Yeah."

Yeah what?

Every once in a while, however, a communication window opens between us. This was one of those days: James talked to me about what was upsetting him, how he felt, and even asked me for advice.

That's when I KNEW he was sick—fever or not!

Later I reflected on my time with James and also on a conversation I had with my husband two days earlier. Tom and I were talking about how I could further integrate my professional skills (life coaching, tarot card reading, healing therapies) into my personal life: specifically in the area of parenting.

An idea came to mind. What if I were to offer to do an Aura Healing for James? An Aura Healing is a relaxing way to work with energy and help open the chakras (energy centers/wheels).

James finds Aura Healings relaxing and therapeutic and was open to having one that afternoon. It was a peaceful way for us to connect. Afterward, he seemed to feel better physically and emotionally.

I enjoyed spending this time with him and loved integrating this knowledge not only to help him feel better, but to help us connect on a very spiritual, energetic level.

What did I learn that day? I learned I can either keep the perspective of sick days throwing a wrench into my schedule, or I can realize there are some great benefits to calling in sick.