Sick... again!

I should have paid more attention to the sore thoat that plagued me all last week. It was clearly caused by sinus issues, but for some reason I thought it would simply go away after a few salt-water gargles and hot showers, maybe by closing the windows and using the A/C instead to ward off outdoor allergens. Silly me. I should have realized that the beginning of this cold/sinus infection was strangely familiar. I had exactly the same symptoms, in the same time frame, in April - which led to me taking a week and a half off of work because it was so bad. Oy.

Well, instead of dwelling of all the things I could complain about, as I am prone to do lately, I am trying to focus on good things. I am blessed beyond measure and there's no reason to complain.
There's something I really like about being sick. In fact, I love it. You know what it is? It involves a hot cup of tea, a good book or some favorite blogs, maybe a cookie or piece of sweet bread, the couch, and my hiney on that couch. I love to read, but rarely have time to sit down for an extended amount of time, so when I'm sick I take full advantage of it. :-)
Another think I like about being sick is that I feel no guilt whatsoever about taking long naps. This morning I woke up at 7:30, ate breakfast, yadayadayada, determined I was too sick to go to church, and promptly went back to bed for another 2 hours. It was great!
The third thing I like about being sick is that amazing "I'm alive! I'm finally alive!" feeling I get the day I'm over it. Maybe that's being a little melodramatic, but there's almost always a particular day following an illness when I have a definite feeling of "Ok, I'm back to normal and I feel good today." It's a great feeling. It makes me want to run 10 miles. Which I will probably never do, but here's to dreams, right?

I think God allows us to get these sniffly, minor, irritating types of sickness as a reminder of humility, to remind us that we really aren't self-sufficient like we think we are. Sometimes the peace and quiet of just sitting at home can help me re-focus my life on God and what I'm supposed to be doing in this season. It just plain gives me time to think deeply (unless I'm on meds), which doesn't happen too often unless it's connected to work stuff. I am blonde, you know. (Juuust kidddding...)

Speaking of being sick, has anyone heard of using apple cider vinegar to stay healthy? I have two health-nut friends (yes, that is a compliment) who both drink it on a regular basis (diluted with water, sometimes with honey added). One of them told me to gargle with it when I have a sore throat, and it did help. It has an effervescent effect on the throat, like it really is pulling out all the impurities. Sort of the same effect as hydrogen peroxide on a wound. I don't know if that's true; I need to do more research. It's fascinating.