I'm a wuss

I'm staying home from work today. Well, more specifically I called in sick to my 10am shift that would have probably lasted three to four hours. And I feel like a wuss.

I remember one class in college. It was one of those dumb required one credit classes that lasted only six weeks, made you fill out a graduation plan, and you couldn't skip a single one for any reason at all. I failed it the first time because I procrastinated making the graduation plan. Which is stupid. So the second time I took it, I resolved to do everything possible and that I wouldn't miss a single class. If I got the flu and was throwing up, I figured I'd take a bucket with me and wait until they threw me out.

I didn't get the flu, or get sick at all. I usually don't, only one cold a year unless David brings back some particularly nasty cocktail of germs from a job site. He did that once and I got my second cold for that year and was sick for like a month.

And so, I'm guessing that's what I have today. My cold of the year. Which makes me feel stupid for staying home from work. Oh, I don't feel good. I don't have a fever at this point and my body feels ok overall, but my chest feels heavy, my nose large, and I have fluids sloshing around. By Linsey standards, low sickness. If I couldn't call in sick or had a limited number of sick days, I'd go to work. If I was still at McFarland, I'd go, although that tends to be sitting around behind a desk and not a highly active job like Scheman. Actually, during that month-long cold that David gave me, I wouldn't feel as bad in the mornings, so I'd go work at McFarland, and feel like crap in the evenings. I also disinfected my phone and keyboard for the next person.

But yeah, Scheman is more flexible, I say, "Hey, I don't feel good," and they're like, "Ok." And Scheman is more physical labor and I don't really want to throw around tables and chairs while I'm glued to this tissue box and keep having to tilt my head and swallow to clear my airways. Blah.

Home remedies! David got sick this weekend and his sister offered him Dayquil, Nyquil, ibuprofen, Tylenol, or aspirin. He declined. I tend to have similar propensities. I was raised with no using medicine, unless you were REALLY sick. Otherwise, you'll get over it. Go lie down. Clearly, it worked, as I am not dead.

But I do like finding things that will make you better, ease symptoms, and not have any adverse effects. For colds, I started with orange juice. Feel a cold coming on? Go buy some orange juice, drink until better. But orange juice has a lot of sugar in it, so I canned that eventually and switched to vitamin C drops, which are dangerously close to not being a home remedy, although it still isn't medicine. To be honest, if I get a cough, I get cough drops. I hate going to bed and coughing out a lung every two minutes.

In other things, which are quite possibly just placebo effects, I like Traditional Medicinals' Echinacea Plus Elderberry tea that supposedly supports the immune system. If it does, it helps, if it doesn't, it doesn't hurt.

My mom swears by Scope with hydrogen peroxide. Gargle for sore throats. I haven't tried that, partially because my throat isn't really bothering me that much and partially because I'm pretty sure my hydrogen peroxide is now largely water.

And then the other cure I've heard about on Facebook. Really, the idea of getting a cure on Facebook is disconcerting. I also got a recipe for protein balls on Facebook. But anyway, someone said raw honey and cinnamon would knock a cold right out. So that's what I'm trying right now. I Googled that looking for the graphic I saw on Facebook that claimed that and discovered that some people think raw honey and cinnamon is like a magic thing for weight loss and like 17 other things, including cancer.

Wow. Downright magic.