Under the Weather

All the talk about hurricane Sandy…a big Nor'easter…the very real possibility of a Frankenstorm made it easy to overlook that little scratchy feeling at the back of my throat.

The preparations for said storm as the predictions became more and more dire… meant that I tried not to think about the fact that I was beginning to feel like I was catching a cold…even after I had several sneezing attacks…seven times in a row!         ACHOOO!

I hoped that my headache and that odd feeling in my sinuses were simply the product of an entire day staring at the computer screen as I entered sales and expense information, balanced the checkbook and generated earnings reports. Perhaps it was the change in barometric pressure as the storm system blew through.

Maybe I wasn’t paying attention.  That would explain why I kept saying “huh?” repeatedly. 

I guess the multiple trips out in the ongoing snow probably didn’t help anything.

I don’t like to even entertain the thoughts of being sick…”under the weather” as it were.  We can't take sick days, we have no health coverage, and honestly…I feel really wimpy when some microscopic organism gets the best of me. 

But as I walked back home from the Post Office, it finally dawned on me.  I really didn’t feel “right”.  My head was pounding, my nose was stuffed up, my throat was really sore and I was oh, so tired.  Oh, bother!  I truly hate to fall victim to a cold.   But, it happens. L Time to attack this “bug”.

As I dosed myself with Echinacea, Goldenseal and Garlic, and stirred up a pot of chicken soup, I scoured the pantry for the yarrow tea.  Yarrow tea always seems to work on a cold.  (One thing I am certain my daughters never miss in their grown-up lives is yarrow tea.  Even the addition of honey does nothing to mask the herb’s bitter taste.  However, it does help tremendously with a cold.)

Years ago, with two young children, a VERY limited income and NO health coverage of any kind, I took it upon myself to study herbal medicine.  I hoped that this would enable me to diagnose and treat most common illnesses without having to run to the doctor all the time.  It worked! While our daughters learned to do everything in their power to avoid “mama and her herb stuff”, we managed to keep everyone relatively healthy for a LONG time.  In the past fifteen years, we have only visited said doctor a handful of times despite the fact that we can actually WALK to the clinic. 

Following the herbal protocol that I used to "inflict" on the entire family, I could feel the symptoms begin to ease after a period of time.

Fortunately, a full-fledged head cold never made an appearance.


Whew…crisis averted.

         …and just in time for Market Day!