Fall Colds

After all the festivities of homecoming this past weekend followed by a straight day of terrible rainy weather, I have come down with a terrible cold- the kind where your nose is running like a faucet, but at the same time your head feels totally clogged and pounds. Being sick as an adult really sucks.

When I was little and I got sick, it was an excuse to stay home from school and watch TV all day. My mom made me a special bed on the couch with enough pillows and blankets to prop me up into viewing position without exerting a single muscle group. Then she'd bring me cool compresses, soup, antibiotics, hot tea with lemon, and generally anything you can think of that makes you feel better when you're ill. Before you judge me for being overly pampered, take note that my mom's a nurse. Caring for people when they're sick is just what she does, and she's good at it.

Flash forward about 15 years. Being sick is total torture. Not only do I still have to go to work because deadlines cannot wait, but no one caters to my every need. I have to cook my own ramen. There is too little time in bed, not enough pampering, and lots of suffering through days of trying to function while your body is at half power. I have a lot of cold remedies, and I'm trying them all to see if I can get rid of this bug by the end of the week: lots of lemon juice in everything, lots of vitamin c and zinc, honey to soothe my sore throat, roasted garlic for it's healing powers, and lots of hot beverages to keep me caffeinated enough to keep going. Even though they have eased my suffering a little, sometimes being an adult is just no fun. Am I right?