On winter mornings after I've been up awhile, my toes and fingers get cold. The thermostat setting is on 70, right where it usually is; but I just can't get warm enough.
Time to step out onto the snow-covered deck and get in the hot tub, because after fifteen minutes soaking in bubbly, 102-degree water, I'm warm for the rest of the day.
You'd think it would be difficult to emerge wet from that warm cocoon when the outside temperature is 23 degrees. Not so. I am so thoroughly warmed that even though I leave icy footprints behind me on the deck, I don't get chilled getting out of the water and into the house.
The thing that requires true grit is going out there, scantily clad, in the first place. But the shock of cold air hitting the body for the five seconds or so it takes to climb in only makes the hot tub feel that much better.
And in the warmth of the hot tub this morning, I was taken back to childhood.
We always lived in drafty old houses, and my bedroom was upstairs in all of them, far away from the coal oil space heater that kept our homes warm. Mother made sure I had flannel sheets in winter, but even those were terribly cold when I first crawled in; so on the coldest of nights, she filled the hot-water bottle from the teakettle and sent that upstairs with me, to put next to my feet. It seemed at the time like the finest of luxuries to have my feet so toasty warm.
Another wintertime memory: when I suffered a bad cold or the flu, Mama would make my bed on the couch for the duration of my illness, and regularly rub Vicks onto my chest and back. To this day, Vicks is the only medication I use for colds. I've learned that most "cold medications" only serve to make me feel worse... grumpy, tired, and dried-out.
Right now my relatives are saying, "And that's different from your everyday self in what way?"
OK, but I'm even worse when I take that junk!
And it's a fact that, used for too long a time, those non-prescription decongestants can actually make symptoms worse.
"Over-the-counter cold medications. Nonprescription decongestants and pain relievers offer some symptom relief, but they won't prevent a cold or shorten its duration, and most have some side effects. If used for more than a few days, they can actually make symptoms worse. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that parents avoid such cold medicines for children younger than age 2. And they are evaluating the safety of these medications in older children.
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Keep in mind that acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can cause serious liver damage or liver failure if taken in high doses. It's common for people to take Tylenol in addition to flu medications that also contain acetaminophen, which can lead to drug overdoses. Read the labels of any cold medication carefully to make sure you're not overdosing."
I'm going to now make the same mistake I make every single winter about this time: I'm going to announce that I haven't had a cold or the flu this season.
We all know what's likely to happen next, right?
Hopefully not, though; because I'm walking in favor and living the dream.
