Hello and welcome to another wintry Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Clap your hands, folks, we made it to February. Today is the 1st!
I don't know where January went, but here we are, one month down in 2020 and eleven to go. How are those resolutions? (Just kidding.)
The big bogey-flu hit our home this week, with the youngest two offspring of our clan afflicted with fevers, stuffy noses, and alternating dry and cruddy coughs that make this mama cringe.
Actually, I'm thinking (hoping) it might not be flu because they haven't experienced any chills or body aches, but bogey-flu (you know, a riff off bogeyman?) sounded way better than bogey-cold. We writers call this literary license.
The menu this week consisted of fever-reducing medicine (bubble gum-flavored liquid for the Toddler, grape chewables for the Second Grader), mint herbal tea with lime juice and honey, popsicles (grape is the favorite, cherry is not), and homemade chicken noodle soup. ("Onion and fish!" hubby shouts from the background. "Eat onion and fish!")
Daily activities included sleeping until 9:00 am, nap time at 1:00 pm and going back to bed by 9:00 pm to repeat the process. The gaps in between were filled with reading books, watching cartoons, and playing Jenga.
All week, I thought I was doing pretty well - feeling pretty good. Then Thursday morning arrived. I awoke with a tickle in my right tonsil. (A particularly sensitive spot.) A speck of cough emerged followed by a wee sniffle, again on the right side. And then a few sneezes. Gosh darn it.
I was scheduled to lead a vision board workshop at the local public library and I didn't want to cancel. The sweet librarian saved me with something I had never tried before: DayQuil. Liquid magic. I perked up. Everything cleared up. I was ready to rock-and-roll. She squirted hand sanitizer into my palm and sent me on my way. I did a virtual handshake for my two guests who went on to make awesome vision boards.
I wondered why it hadn't occurred to me to get some kind of symptom suppressing medication for the littles. So I hopped over to the grocery store and surveyed the options. I selected Robitussin. I remembered Robitussin from my own childhood. It was the tried-and-true medicine my mother always used. (Or was that Dimetapp?) I cherished my current state of being able to breath clear-headed and cough-free. I swear, I only wanted this same relief for my children.
I brought home more DayQuil (and NyQuil) for me and the Robitussin and was ready to share the spoils with the kiddos. When I twisted the cap on the Robitussin, the smell of it hit my brain, triggering memories of why I had probably avoided buying Robitussin for my own children.
The smell - a sickly faux cherry concoction that smiles its cherry red innocence like the red-painted face of a sinister clown. Happy on the surface, but horrible going down. Surely, the producers of Robitussin had improved its flavor in the last 30 years since I'd tasted it. But I wasn't about to find out.
I measured out the contents and brought it to my babe. "Here, this is to help with your cough and runny nose," I said, my own pasted smile betraying the truth he would soon come to know.
Unquestioning, the Toddler gulped it down, then grimaced. This wasn't the sweet bubble gum of the fever-reducer. His eyes showed surprise, dismay, then knowledge of my betrayal. His disapproval stabbed at my heart.
I was grateful the Second Grader was already asleep and had missed witnessing the treachery. Her turn for a dose came in the middle of the night. Half asleep, she choked it down in weak, groggy protest. When she awoke in the morning, I thought maybe she'd be all right and take the medicine again without incident. But no, when I brought her the requisite 10 ml, she firmly clamped her lips shut and shook her head.
I couldn't blame her. So I borrowed a page from Dr. Rachel's playbook when she was called upon to burn off a pair of warts with liquid nitrogen from the Second Grader's foot. "Do you want the pain now and no pain later? Or no pain now and pain later?" After a few seconds to weigh the options, the Second Grader opted for the pain now. The Toddler, who could be counted on to copy his older siblings, lined up and took his medicine too, grimacing in all the same places and drinking water afterwards.
So far, the medicine seems to be working.
I don't know where January went, but here we are, one month down in 2020 and eleven to go. How are those resolutions? (Just kidding.)
The big bogey-flu hit our home this week, with the youngest two offspring of our clan afflicted with fevers, stuffy noses, and alternating dry and cruddy coughs that make this mama cringe.
Actually, I'm thinking (hoping) it might not be flu because they haven't experienced any chills or body aches, but bogey-flu (you know, a riff off bogeyman?) sounded way better than bogey-cold. We writers call this literary license.
The menu this week consisted of fever-reducing medicine (bubble gum-flavored liquid for the Toddler, grape chewables for the Second Grader), mint herbal tea with lime juice and honey, popsicles (grape is the favorite, cherry is not), and homemade chicken noodle soup. ("Onion and fish!" hubby shouts from the background. "Eat onion and fish!")
Daily activities included sleeping until 9:00 am, nap time at 1:00 pm and going back to bed by 9:00 pm to repeat the process. The gaps in between were filled with reading books, watching cartoons, and playing Jenga.
All week, I thought I was doing pretty well - feeling pretty good. Then Thursday morning arrived. I awoke with a tickle in my right tonsil. (A particularly sensitive spot.) A speck of cough emerged followed by a wee sniffle, again on the right side. And then a few sneezes. Gosh darn it.
I was scheduled to lead a vision board workshop at the local public library and I didn't want to cancel. The sweet librarian saved me with something I had never tried before: DayQuil. Liquid magic. I perked up. Everything cleared up. I was ready to rock-and-roll. She squirted hand sanitizer into my palm and sent me on my way. I did a virtual handshake for my two guests who went on to make awesome vision boards.
I wondered why it hadn't occurred to me to get some kind of symptom suppressing medication for the littles. So I hopped over to the grocery store and surveyed the options. I selected Robitussin. I remembered Robitussin from my own childhood. It was the tried-and-true medicine my mother always used. (Or was that Dimetapp?) I cherished my current state of being able to breath clear-headed and cough-free. I swear, I only wanted this same relief for my children.
I brought home more DayQuil (and NyQuil) for me and the Robitussin and was ready to share the spoils with the kiddos. When I twisted the cap on the Robitussin, the smell of it hit my brain, triggering memories of why I had probably avoided buying Robitussin for my own children.
The smell - a sickly faux cherry concoction that smiles its cherry red innocence like the red-painted face of a sinister clown. Happy on the surface, but horrible going down. Surely, the producers of Robitussin had improved its flavor in the last 30 years since I'd tasted it. But I wasn't about to find out.
I measured out the contents and brought it to my babe. "Here, this is to help with your cough and runny nose," I said, my own pasted smile betraying the truth he would soon come to know.
Unquestioning, the Toddler gulped it down, then grimaced. This wasn't the sweet bubble gum of the fever-reducer. His eyes showed surprise, dismay, then knowledge of my betrayal. His disapproval stabbed at my heart.
I was grateful the Second Grader was already asleep and had missed witnessing the treachery. Her turn for a dose came in the middle of the night. Half asleep, she choked it down in weak, groggy protest. When she awoke in the morning, I thought maybe she'd be all right and take the medicine again without incident. But no, when I brought her the requisite 10 ml, she firmly clamped her lips shut and shook her head.
I couldn't blame her. So I borrowed a page from Dr. Rachel's playbook when she was called upon to burn off a pair of warts with liquid nitrogen from the Second Grader's foot. "Do you want the pain now and no pain later? Or no pain now and pain later?" After a few seconds to weigh the options, the Second Grader opted for the pain now. The Toddler, who could be counted on to copy his older siblings, lined up and took his medicine too, grimacing in all the same places and drinking water afterwards.
So far, the medicine seems to be working.
On This Day
Historic Highlights (credits)
2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates on its way back to Earth
All 7 astronauts were killed in the disaster.
1979 - Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 15 years in exile
His triumphant return marked the beginning of the Iranian Revolution.
1968 - Eddie Adams takes one of the Vietnam War's best-known pictures
The image of the execution of a Vietcong officer in Saigon helped build opposition to the war.
1960 - Four black students start the Greensboro sit-ins
Their refusal to leave a “whites only” lunch counter was a milestone in the fight against racial segregation in the United States.
1884 - The first fascicle of the “Oxford English Dictionary” is published
The book contained entries A to Ant.
All 7 astronauts were killed in the disaster.
1979 - Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 15 years in exile
His triumphant return marked the beginning of the Iranian Revolution.
1968 - Eddie Adams takes one of the Vietnam War's best-known pictures
The image of the execution of a Vietcong officer in Saigon helped build opposition to the war.
1960 - Four black students start the Greensboro sit-ins
Their refusal to leave a “whites only” lunch counter was a milestone in the fight against racial segregation in the United States.
1884 - The first fascicle of the “Oxford English Dictionary” is published
The book contained entries A to Ant.
Happy Birthday to You!🎶
1946 - Elisabeth Sladen, English actress
1931 - Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia
1901 - Clark Gable, American actor
1894 - John Ford, American director
1552 - Edward Coke, English judge, politician
1931 - Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia
1901 - Clark Gable, American actor
1894 - John Ford, American director
1552 - Edward Coke, English judge, politician
Remembering You
2002 - Hildegard Knef, German actress
1981 - Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer
1976 - Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1966 - Buster Keaton, American actor, director, producer
1851 - Mary Shelley, English author
1981 - Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer
1976 - Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
1966 - Buster Keaton, American actor, director, producer
1851 - Mary Shelley, English author
Stay healthy, take your medicine, and make it a great Saturday!
Kim
Robitussin, I think came in time for kinds ten years younger than me.
ReplyDeleteI remember Vick's Formula 44 which was almost as bad (maybe Robitussin was the new improved-taste version), Mom used liberally used Metholatum on me; up my nose until I was big enough to out distance her -- for awhile; I had to go to bed sometime. It doesn't indicate that application on the label, but other than the loss of a few t'ousand brain cells, I was me ol' self right along, fit as a fiddle an' all that.
I think me three older sisters had the opportunity to imbibe castor oil for bouts of constipation; my youngest sister, as a pre-teen, was rumored to have discovered castor oil thickened her eyebrows
Mothers are strange wonderful beings. Ha! I'm of the generation of Vick's Vap-o-rub on the chest and feet. And today's mothers use essential oils. My mother-in-law made her kids hang their heads over bowls of steam then covered the whole scene with a towel.
ReplyDelete