Those were Hubz’s loving words to me this morning. Yes, he’s just that romantic.

I’m sick. And I was innocently and lovingly trying to wheeze some cooties in his direction so that we could be sick together. I’m just that romantic, too. I mean, shouldn’t couples be sick together?

But he didn’t appreciate being wheezed upon, so midway through pouring me a cup of coffee, he hightailed it out the front door, yelling, “Be gone, you perfect purveyor of black death.”

Now I’m all weak in the knees. Swoon.

He’s not just grumpy that I’m sick because he’s worried he’s going to catch it. He knows that now begins “the period of enlightenment”. You see, I KNOW that Web MD and Don’tBeSick.com hold all the remedies to what ails me. And I’m willing to try them all.

Once, when I had a UTI, I drank an entire bottle of apple cider vinegar. It didn’t work, and now every time I smell Italian salad dressing, I have to bolt for the bathroom. But that little inconvenience doesn’t keep me from trying “alternative” remedies.

One of my running buddies is from Mexico, and every time he gets his feet wet during a run, he stops, bends down and dips his finger in the puddle, then rubs the dirty water behind his ear. This, according to him, is a full-proof way to ward off a cold. Too bad I already have a cold (and I am in the desert), or I’d go find me a dirty puddle.

Growing up, my mom didn’t like to give us a lot of medicine. When we got a cold, we were given a hot toddy at night instead of typical cough medicine. A hot toddy, in case you grew up with parents who were averse to feeding their 5 year olds Jim Beam, is a shot of whiskey in hot tea with honey and lemon. I’m not sure it does anything other than knock the kid out, but it seemed to work. At least, from what I remember of that time period.

When I met Hubz, he’d never had a hot toddy. In fact, he, having spent his formative years as a Southern Baptist, was appalled that my parents boozed us up when we were sick.

“That’s child abuse,” he said.

“Well, we didn’t die, so it must have worked,” I replied. “What did you take?”

“Uh, NyQuil, of course.”

Ahhhhh…I see. The hot toddy for people who believe liquor is the devil’s nectar. So I showed him the back of a NyQuil bottle. He now loooooooooooves hot toddies.

And so do I. But since it is only 8 o’clock in the morning, it’s a little early for a hot toddy. So, I guess I’ll just have to put the whiskey in my coffee.

Web MD said so.

Happy Running!

Tagged as: alternative remedies, cold, hot toddy, NyQuil, sick