a few thoughts on the common cold

summer colds are for the birds. no one ever wants to feel like this, but certainly not when the sun is shining.

being a responsible citizen with a cold puts a damper on your social life. i missed four social events last week in an attempt to be considerate of others. four. i'm pretty sure i haven't had four things to go to in the last three months put together and of course they all happen on the week that my family has an infectious disease. but, i decided that if i am going to try to make friends here, it's best not to start out by getting my targeted social audience sick first.

when do kids get better at controlling their germs? after any of our children has a cold, i always feel like i need to completely disinfect the house. how can they make contact with so many surfaces so quickly? madeleine actually started licking the handle to our bedroom door at the height of her cold last week. licking it. she doesn't usually do this. is she trying to get randy sick?

being a mom with a cold is the pits. especially when your kids also have colds. because no matter how good your husband is to you, the world just doesn't stop for mom. all i wanted to do was crawl into bed for three days straight and all that my children wanted was my constant attention. including at 2:00am and 4:00am and 4:30am and...

i'd rather deal with the flu than a cold. the flu may be messier, but it strikes fast and then it's gone. colds seem to hang around forever. plus, it seems easier to contain flu germs because the flu renders its victims more lethargic. my kids obviously don't feel well when they have colds, but they still go about touching everything (see comments above) and living life fairly normally. with the flu, i can usually keep them quarantined in front of the TV and hopefully keep their siblings from getting sick. i don't even try with colds. plus, my kids seem to give me more sympathy when they see me vomiting than when i just have a cold (see comments above).


but the saddest thing about the common cold is when infants get it. because there is so little you can do for them. i swear, you can't buy cold medicine for children under the age of thirteen (that may be a slight exaggeration, but only slight). so, i put saline drops in my little boy's tiny nostrils and listen to him scream as i suck his brains out with a small, blue, rubber torture device. i watch him drown as he tries to nurse while only being able to breathe out of his mouth. i try to calm him down as he fights sleep, despite extreme exhaustion. and i pray that he will get better quickly so that my usually cherubic boy will come back to me.