I seem to be the neighborhood first aid station and lemonade stand. Every time Cindy, Lolita, or Vicky gets a scratch, they come to me for a Bandaid because "their mothers don't have any." I finally told Lolita to tell her mother to buy some.
I always dribble on plenty of Bactine first, to help prevent infection-but I wonder, does Bactine and a Bandaid constitute practicing medicine without a license?...and why I should I use up all my Bandaids on the neighbors? But I cant pass by those pleading faces-or Vicky saying, "This scratch hurts."
The lemonade irks me more. I don't mind making it once in a while for a special treat, but I don't expect to serve the whole neighborhood every day, and I especially don't like it when Lolita orders me to give her lemonade. I've taken to saying "no, but you can have a glass of water"...and what a lot of water I lug when Cindy and Lolita could go home for a drink (EDITOR'S NOTE: Cindy and Lolita lived in the house immediately in back of our duplex). Lemonade and Bandaids are luxuries on my budget, not necessities, but I suppose I'll go on purveying, and resenting it. Somewhere I keep hearing a voice saying "Inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of my creatures" and my conscience won't let me refuse....though my mind tells me it's an imposition. If only I could be reconciled to feeling one way or the other!
Nancy Lawson
a picture from her early teaching days in San Franciso
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