Sick Mom, Guilty Mom

I read once that children temporarily stop growing when they are sick. I can’t remember where I read this and I have not researched it but it makes perfect sense to me from watching my own kids. First of all, their poor little bodies put everything they have into getting well. There is nothing leftover to put into growing. Second, they just aren’t hungry. This comes in extremely handy when mama is sick too…

When I got up yesterday, I was pretty sure my head was going to explode. My kids have had colds for a few days and I was starting to have my own symptoms on Sunday. But oh man, yesterday was rough. I made the kids toast with honey on it for breakfast because it was about all I could do, and even that was a challenge.

As of late, my husband and I have been trying to make an effort to eat more healthy foods. One thing that makes that really easy is to only keep healthy foods in the house. The only problem… slicing cucumbers to snack on is just too much work when your head is going to explode. I believe that your body can do amazing things as far as making you well if you give it proper nutrition but proper nutrition translates to “too much work” when you’re sick.

I did put the effort into one thing that I’m pretty sure made a difference in me feeling WAY better today. I made ginger tea. Do you know the cold medicine commercial that says that we always blame mucus but sometimes inflammation is the real culprit? I learned a while ago that fresh ginger is used as a natural anti-inflammatory and I just so happen to keep that around. Now, I can’t really taste a whole lot when my nose is all stuffed up but I am pretty sure that this stuff would be lovely on any winter’s day, cold symptoms or not, but it really seemed to help me recover. My kids even drank some when it cooled and I noticed their coughing fits were less frequent as well.

My best friend wrote this yesterday, “In real relationships, we are constantly plagued by our humanness… by our desire to put ourselves first.” She was talking about her relationship with her husband but I think this spans many types of relationships. I was feeling a little guilty yesterday because I didn’t feel like I was doing much for my kids. I was more worried about how I was feeling than I was about them. I was plagued by my humanness, both physically and mentally yesterday. The most amazing thing though, my kids still love me today. Even mom can be human.

Ginger Tea

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 Tbs raw honey

2-3 lemon slices

3 cups boiling water

Place ginger, honey and lemons in glass container, like a measuring cup or quart-size canning jar. Add boiling water and let steep for 10 minutes.

Strain through fine mesh strainer into mug and enjoy.