Spots and Smells

The other day I was moaning to my sister about my bad skin. It seems to unfair to still be getting spots in your thirties when the wrinkles have started, I hoped for a sweet spot in between the two! Anyway, a pretty nasty under the skin pimple was annoying me and my sister suggested I put some frankincense on it. At this point, I’ll say that my eldest sister Hannah, is a bit of a whizz when it comes to alternative medicine or homeopathy and we always say ‘she has an oil for everything.’ Although skeptical at first, most of her suggestions have proved successful so I’ve been won round. So much so, Freddie (my just turned 4 year old) now says  ‘Hannah knows everything’ and refers to her for any ailment.

Anyway, since we are staying in Castlerock this week, I asked my mum if she might be able to bring a bottle with her when she was coming which she kindly did. The spot was continuing to grow happily taking over what felt like at least a third of my face and I thought I better try it. Just tonight I poured a few drops onto a tissue and instantly felt like I’d just gone back in time. I used to put frankincense on the back of Andrew’s neck when he was having treatment. It was meant to help with brain swelling. He used to say ‘well, it was good enough for Jesus’ I remember his dad once replying ‘yes, but Jesus didn’t have a brain tumour.’ It was amazing how with one of sniff of the woody aroma , I could have been back in 2018. I felt choked up all of a sudden thinking about Andrew standing in our kitchen before he went to radiotherapy with the smell of the frankincense wafting round.

I think of Andrew very often, but it’s so strange when thoughts of him come as a surprise. I wasn’t expecting him to appear so vividly at that exact moment. (Although he was used to me giving off about spots so maybe it was appropriate!)

I bet Andrew doesn’t miss the oil, but I miss him. Also, I really hope this spot looks better tomorrow!

Over and Out,

Ruth