Oh…The Pain

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

OH…THE PAIN

Well, that title covers a lot of ground, hmm? I suppose we all have pain of some sort now and then.  I’ve just discovered that I seem to have more and more pain in more parts of my body as I age.

But I vaguely remember a pain from my childhood – earaches.  Have you ever had an ear infection?  Or an earache?  Nothing fun about that, is there?  It seems like there is just no place where you can touch/heat/ice/or whatever that can relieve the pain.

When we first moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, I was not quite four-years-old.  Daddy had just been selected to be the Sunday School Secretary for the New Mexico Baptist Convention.  I seem to remember his office being in an old building downtown somewhere.  I also remember that, for a while, Mother was Daddy’s secretary.  Having no where to put me, they took me with them to Daddy’s office.  

I’m not sure that I remember much of how good a child I was – I don’t remember running around and getting into mischief. I seem to remember creaky wooden floors, and a distinct smell – nothing unpleasant – but memorable, probably wood polish.  

Mother (right) and her sister, Jessie (left), in front of the old Baptist Building.

The window states “Baptist Book Store”

But the thing I remember the most is how badly my ears hurt.  I remember that I would frequently cry myself to sleep from the pain.  I don’t remember how Mom and Dad put up with my crying, and I’m sure it was heart-breaking for them to hear.  I remember Mother warming some sweet oil and putting it in my ears, which seemed to help some.

At some point in my life, I must have outgrown the earaches, because I didn’t have them in my teen years or as an adult. However, I find even now, that I dislike having any liquid in my ears.  I don’t swim for that reason.

I also don’t remember how long Daddy’s office was in that old building.  But a new building was built along Central Avenue (U.S. Route 66), and I believe the New Mexico Convention offices are still in that building.

New Baptist Building, 1954 – side street entrance

But as I have aged, my hearing has taken a hit, and I now must wear hearing aids to help with being able to hear and understand what others are saying.  Thank God that the aides are available – they help so very much.  But I always wonder just how much those earaches I had as a child contributed to my hearing loss.

There can also be other contributors to hearing loss. If you are a reader of my posts, you might remember that for about eight years I was an aerobic instructor.  I stood directly in front of a boom box and shouted out the steps to my dancers.  So perhaps the loud music blaring in my face had some effect on my hearing, as well.  

I only remember one concert Fred and I attended where I came away with my ears ringing from the loud music.  I’ve been told that can be a contributing factor in later hearing loss.  But it was only one concert – and we never attended any others like that.

But that brings me back to the pain of the earaches.  It was a most uncomfortable time in my young life, and I am just grateful that I no longer have those issues.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years