The Best Medicine

After church on Sunday, I held two little hands and walked down the front steps into the sunshine. Directly behind us was a couple from our church. We chatted as we walked towards our respective cars. “How is your family, Laura? Is anyone still sick?” I almost said “We’re great!” but then I remembered the cough that had been plaguing three out of the four of us for the last couple of days.

As I buckled the boys into their carseats, I thought about their question. These people are part of my church family and they care about us. They know us. Autumn and winter weren’t kind to the health of my family. I remember feeling like the sick would never go away, and it didn’t – not for six whole weeks around Thanksgiving. Fevers were high. Ear infections rampant. Antibiotics weren’t working. It was bad – for all of us. So their question question was personal. And also, in retrospect, ominous.

By the end of the day on Monday, I had to leave work early to go fetch a feverish toddler. On Tuesday, I was the only one who left the house to go to work. The family males were home to ride out that fever.

I am no longer shocked by the amount of sick that my family faces now that we have kids. I admit to feeling helpless when my oldest first went to daycare. He went from a home environment that his immune system was used to with adults who had good hand-washing habits to a daycare overrun with tiny little children putting things in their mouths and touching hands and eyes and faces.

They say that children go through a period of illness whenever they are put into a daily program with other multiple other children. If they don’t go to daycare, they will go through it when they enter school. And blessedly, their immune systems start to even out, so after a year of being in daycare, children on average get sick at an equal rate that their non-daycare counterparts do.

But kids do get sick. And they spread their germs around to the rest of the family. I can’t even count the number of times one of my eyes have been sneezed into or I’ve accidentally kissed a snot-covered lip. Motherhood is glamorous. I only tell my kids to cover their mouths because I want them to have good habits when they go out into the world, but I know those actions are futile at home. If they’re sick, I’m sick.

Being sick sucks. There is no arguing that one. There is not one instance when I don’t dread my children getting sick. Still, in the moment of the sickness, things often slow down. Children become babies again and little legs stop running and start climbing up onto laps. While I would do anything to avoid bringing more sickness into our house, I am often surprised at home much easier it is to handle than I was expecting. Moms turn into super-Moms when snuggles suddenly become the best medicine.

I think we’re on the mend in our household right now. The kids are coughing less and sleeping better. I couldn’t even pull my littlest away from his toys for a quick cuddle. But I know it will return. Spring is in the air and I always get sick with the change of temperature. And my kids still go to daycare with plenty of other kids who put toys in their mouths and sneeze in people’s eyes.

Here’s to health and slow-snuggly mildly unhealthy days.

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Because I know we’re not the only family who gets sick, I have a fabulous natural health package to give away. It includes homeopathic remedies for colds and flu from Pascoe Canada. Pascoe Canada is site-licensed with Health Canada’s Natural Health Products Directorate and have received registrations of Natural Product Numbers or Drug Identification Numbers – Homeopathic Medicines for their products. I’m really excited about this giveaway because I know that there are so many moms who want to keep their household as natural as possible.

Included is Pascoleucyn, a homeopathic remedy used to prevent and treat symptoms of colds and flu; Tonsillopas, a homeopathic treatment for sore throat which offers relief from fever as well. It can be used by all ages and is fast acting; Sinupas is another remedy that can be used by the whole family. It is a treatment to relieve sinus congestion and inflammation; and finally Gripps, a homeopathic treatment for cold and flu for ages 1 and up. It offers relief from infection, cough, runny nose, fever and headaches. One of the best things about these remedies are that most of them can be used by the whole family.

Please remember, I am not a doctor. Natural remedies are still drugs and need to be treated as such. Consult with your doctor to get the best information about new treatments.

Giveaway is open to Canadian residents only.

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*Pascoe Canada provided me with a Cold and Flu pack of my own for my family in return for this giveaway.