Feeling better

The rattling in my chest still remains and the ever present needed cough reminds me that we have yet to clear this recent bout with the seasonal crud from our house. It has been a week. A very long one. As usual I was the last to succumb to the germy-germs. It's what Mothers do, repress illness until the very last one is on the mend. Now that I'm sort of back in the game the clean up and de-tox begins. I can't say I find sanitizing the house pleasurable, who would, but I know it must be done. There's laundry to wash and bathrooms to clean and dirty floors in need of sweeping. One thing at a time slow and steady. In the mean time I'll catch up to where I was before we all got the crud and it will become but another thing that we managed to get through.

You know, it's interesting, there that whole time as each one became sick my body was preparing for my own encounter. As first Keith, then Leah and finally Olivia became ill I kept everyone fed and hydrated. Not a moment's rest for the non-sick Momma. While they were satisfied eating soup and crackers my body's hunger increased. I have not felt that constantly hungry in such a long time. All I kept thinking was "who gave me this linebacker's appetite?" and "why do I want to eat so much meat?" Then about a day before I became sick it hit me. Oh yeah, my turn is next. Subconsciously I was preparing for battle and that I think is amazing. I craved hamburgers, anything with beef. (Beef has Zinc which our bodies need to make white blood cells.) While I was busy caring for everyone else my body knew I needed to be prepared for my own turn. I didn't think much about it at first, just assumed that craving was because I was so busy but it makes sense. I'm glad I listened to my body and ate more beef than normal. I managed to fight off the crud much faster than everyone else and was not as miserable. Though this cough still makes me crazy. I wonder do you other Moms or Dads ever notice that in yourself? I know everyone has different immunity levels and I have always been of the sturdy stock where I tend not to get as ill as others around me but I don't think matters much. I'm curious to know if that happens to others. Do you find yourself craving foods that are known for boosting immunity when illness creeps into your home/workplace? It seems that far too often people have relied on medications to make us better likely as a result of not being aware of our own biological cues. I think that listening to your body, pondering about why you might be craving a certain food, can help you determine what is going on. I know that if I want to eat cake or anything super sugary that I'm very likely short on sleep. I'm trying to be more aware of my own body's needs and how my nutrition can help resolve most minor illnesses. Thankfully my appetite has returned to normal. I'm still finding the idea of a hot bowl of chili very mouth watering but at least it's not 3 bowls. While I try to keep my eating habits in line I'm on the search for some delightful stew recipes. And yes, beef based stews are very tempting right now.