Take Good Care of Your Karma

I am a firm believer in Karma. I know that if I am kind to others and do good deeds, others will be kind to me. I also know that if I do wrong to others, I will incur misfortune three-fold. Karma. How did I learn this lesson, you ask? I thank (blame) my brother.

Bro is just under three years younger than me. He is my parents' third child and first son. I don't know why, but I loved to provoke him when we were very young. Here are a couple of examples...

When I was six, Sis was five, Bro was three, Lil Sis was a baby (no Baby Bro, yet). We lived in a house that had a gas heater in the bathroom. The heater malfunctioned causing it to emit carbon monoxide into the house overnight. I remember waking up groggy with Mom standing in the bedroom doorway. She looked woozy herself and scared. She was calling mine and Sis' names over and over to wake us up. I think she was trying to find out if we were still alive. The next thing I remember is being in the hospital with Bro in the same room. We were the only two in the family that were admitted, everyone else went home. The hospital had put Bro in a crib. He was not too happy about it...he had been sleeping in a "big boy's" bed for quite some time. Of course I couldn't let the opportunity pass to tease him about being a baby and I proceeded to do so. He got more and more upset as I continued to call him a baby. Bro went home the next day and I was still there. After he left, I started to feel very lonely. Mom couldn't visit much because she had the other kids to take care of and, I suspect, she was probably still a little weak from inhaling the carbon monoxide. Daddy was away on Temporary Duty Assignment (TDY) in England; he was flown home, but not for a few days. As I lay in the hospital bed feeling sorry for myself, I stuck my tongue out and it wouldn't go back into my mouth! I tried pushing it in with my hand but it would just pop right back out. I was terrified. I had visions of spending the rest of my life with my tongue hanging out. The nurse called the Doctor who said it was psychological because I was homesick. Then, miraculously, I was able to put my tongue back in my mouth and it stayed put. But it was a close call; I could have been permanently disabled all because I mocked Bro. Karma.

About the time of the carbon monoxide poisoning.
I am on the far right. Bro is, well, the boy.

The next incident occurred when I was seven or eight. Bro caught the mumps. He was miserable and he looked so funny with the puffy cheeks. He would sit out in the back yard and sadly watch us play with our friends, wishing so much that he could play, too. What did I do? I rubbed it in. And what happened to me? I caught the mumps and they lasted twice as long with me as they did with Bro. Karma.

Let this be a lesson to you...take good care of your Karma and your Karma will take good care of you.

Thanks for dropping by.