By Denny Mekus
“Keep your feet warm, your head cool, and you’ll never be sick a day in your life…Denny, would you please just put on a hat! You’re laughing now, but you’ll remember me when I’m gone!”
– My grandmother
I heard this statement more times than I can remember – and I never knew how to respond without laughing and shrugging my shoulders. It’s one of many ridiculous sayings I miss from my childhood, only to find that I now repeat it as a parent. Daily affirmations of unproven health tips – served with a heap of confusion, and a side of guilt. Earaches were met with warm olive oil and stuffed with cotton the size of golf balls sticking out of our ears; and colds, headaches and all sorts of body aches were treated with heavy lathers of Vicks® VapoRub™ and cans of McNess® Menthol Rub resembling shoe polish from my grandfather’s barbershop. Hungry? Here’s a glass of warm milk and homemade bread with a mashed garlic spread in place of butter. I realize in writing this that it’s a miracle I was ever able to date. I’ll save the clichéd Big Fat Greek Wedding references and simply reminisce growing up in a Greek American family in a sea of blond and blue-eyed Iowa classmates.
First and foremost, it’s important to know everybody’s mother is the best cook they’ve ever known, and may God have mercy on your soul if you’re caught saying otherwise. To this point, my friends quickly learned our home had enough food to feed a small army at all times. They were also incapable of saying “no” to any Greek woman in the house, so in the midst of my 1990s teenage angst, quickly picking me up and rushing out the door was impossible. Our house was a revolving door of family and friends where once you entered, you were not allowed to leave until you’d eaten something, received a warm hug and provided a detailed update to my family on how your family was doing. No matter how many aunts and grandmothers may have been over when visiting, each gave you a hello and goodbye hug, and pressed the back of their hand to your forehead for a lovingly inaccurate health check before you left. I feel compelled to add that my mother is the best cook in the family.
The men all looked like the cast of “The Godfather,” and whereas most grandpas wore Dockers® and golf shirts, mine mowed their lawns in button-down dress shirts and polyester pants that their wives had hemmed into shorts. Our family events never truly commenced until you gave individual hellos and hugs; you were immediately tasked to see if our moms needed any help; and you received unsolicited life advice from your uncles. My grandparents and great grandparents had next to nothing when they arrived. They worked hard and cherished everything they made, and they fiercely loved and protected their growing families. My family’s story is unique to me, but relatable to many who have immigrated to this county. What I defined as overbearing was to an extent a form of Preventive Services.
I’m grateful for all of those little health checks I received growing up, disguised in loving conversations and daily family interaction. To quote the expression, “the best medicine is preventive medicine.” At Health AllianceTM we can help get you started with the many preventive services we cover if you’re in need.
I often look back at my childhood for answers or references as I navigate the waters of parenthood, and I hope I always remember these steps ingrained in me from my own upbringing. These principles remind me now to check in on the older members of my own family, and if I’m half as overbearing to my children as my family was to me, I’ll know I’m doing something right. If not, there’s always olive oil and Vicks VapoRub.
Denny Mekus is a community and broker liaison at Health Alliance. He’s a husband, a father of twins, an avid golfer and a performing musician who lives in the Quad Cities.
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