Freaked Out

Yesterday was a first for my little girl Ellie. She got her first bloody nose. Life moves so quickly that it's hard to always remember our firsts. I had so many nosebleeds as a boy that I couldn't tell you what my first one was like, how old I was, or anything else about it. One thing I know; I know how to stop a nosebleed.

But my three year old didn't want to hear anything I had to say. She was too busy freaking out. See, my inlaws have a nice cooler on wheels for parties, and a couple days ago at Ellie's birthday party it was filled with yummy drinks so she and her cousin decided to lift the lid up and look inside to see what goodies could be had. Nothing was there so her cousin let go of the lid while Ellie was still nosing around inside. SMACK.

Blood was everywhere and every time Ellie would see it, she'd freak out even more. See in her mind, the stuff that's inside you is supposed to stay inside you, and if it's on the outside it is overwhelming.

I think many of us are the same way. There's stuff inside that comes out sometimes, like when we're grieving, that we think should stay inside. When we see it, it can overwhelm us, it can freak us out. The thing is that the same blood that flows from a broken vessel in the nose is the same thing our body uses to heal that break.

Don't be afraid of the feelings, thoughts, and actions that come from deep within us, they can often be part of our healing.

I took Ellie's shirt off and sat her in a chair, and applied a cold compress and though I had to struggle with her a bit, when she relaxed, I was able to help her.

--Ben