Watching It Go By

I hate being sick.

I know people (yeah, you know who you are) upon whom the universe smiled, and were blessed with herculean immune systems. I am definitely not one of them.

I get sick a few times a year. Usually nothing major, just a few sniffles, bit of achyness, and I'm dead to the world for a day or two. And then I'm fine again. Every once in a while I get one of those knocked-on-my-ass, feverish and hallucinating kinds of sicknesses. But not often.

I grew up with one of those awesome moms that is always there when you're sick. She'd bring me saltines and sprite and Lipton soup (which to this day I always keep on hand for when I'm sick...it's comforting). My parents learned pretty early on that liquid cold medicine + me is about the worst combination ever. My stomach vehemently disagrees with it, and everyone loses. So I tough it out.

I remember the first time I got sick after moving away to college. It was horrible. Not the sickness, it was one of my normal, feel gross for a few days kind of experiences. What changed was the mom-factor.

I hadn't prepared myself for getting sick. I'd never had to really think about it. This time, though, I was sick, and alone, and I didn't know what to do. I trudged my pathetic self down to the store for my saltines and sprite (and cold medicine...thank God for gel caps!). Finally, I got back to my dorm and curled up in my bed, shaking from fever and weakness. Another day or so and I was fine.

I learned two important lessons from this. One, ALWAYS BE PREPARED. I know have my own little "pharmacy" bag that I even travel with, that has all the basic medicines (cold, allergy, immodium for those international jaunts...). There's typically a box or two of my soup in the cupboard. When sickness hits, and it always does, all I have to do is burrow under my covers, and occasionally shuffle out to the kitchen. No arduous treks required.

The second, and arguably most important lesson is that moms are awesome. When we're little, they're our best friends. As we get older, we start to take them for granted. By the time we're in high school, we're ready to get out of there. That saying, distance makes the heart grow fonder? So true. Once we're on our own, we start to see all the little (and big!) things our moms did for us. Did I mention moms are awesome?

Every time I've been asked if I have advice for new college freshmen, I always tell them to stock up on a "sick day" kit. All those things your mom would bring you to take care of you...have them ready. When you're sick and miserable and incapacitated, the best thing to have is a little bit of home.

This weekend, I've been sick, thousands of miles from home (though, incidentally, my mom is also on this side of the country right now haha). It's been five years since I left home, and I've learned of course how to take care of myself. But I don't think I'll ever get away from the homesickness that's always an extra symptom of every other illness. So here I am, with my sprite and saltines and bowl of Lipton soup (only the noodles; I hate broth).

Love you mom :)