100 Days of Kindness: I'm SICK!

Last night I woke up with my throat on fire. This was completely out of left field...I was feeling great yesterday so this really snuck up on me. I don't know where I got it from and I haven't been unusually stressed or over worked so it just happened.

When the alarm clock went off at 5AM I knew I wasn't going to work. I turned off the alarm and stayed still and started thinking about my day--especially about the meetings I had scheduled and the assignments I planned to complete. I also started thinking about a blog post to work on too.

What a nice distraction free day this could be to get things done! I stayed in bed a while longer and made plans to call into work, make my meetings into conference calls and do my job from my easy chair--my usual routine when I feel under the weather.

After rising I settled in with a cup of coffee and some EmergenC and started notifying the world that I was sick but still available. As I reviewed at all the mail in my inbox and I started to droop in my chair.

It occurred to me that my plan wasn't very kind (to me).

I looked inside myself and found my inner kind mother and asked her to make the decisions for the day. Right off she knew I needed some nutrition and to get back in bed. So, my plan to read email and subsist on buttered toast went out the window. I made my usual green smoothie and marched back to the bedroom.

Now folks, I have to honest. A green smoothie just doesn't seem like proper sickness fare. Toast with butter (and jam) does. But my inner kind mother knew better. Toast is the ad campaign for comfort when I'm sick. The smoothie is actually full of all the stuff I need to feel better (even if it is very green and not a picture of comfort).

I napped the morning away and at lunch I made some "emergency soup" so I wouldn't have to leave the house (note: having the cupboards stocked with things you can throw together in a pinch is a very good thing indeed). More napping, ginger tea and an admission that I'm not going to be well tomorrow either so I see more naps, soup and tea in the near future.

I wish I could say that turning off for the day is a guarantee to a speedy recovery and that I will just bounce back over night.

Recovery takes as long as it takes and that is FINE. Nobody is served by my pretending to be well when I'm not--not me, not my coworkers and not even my company (they may not know it, but this is better for them...really).

Ok, back to doing nothing. I leave you with an idea/recipe for an Emergency Soup of your own. Improvise with your favorite nourishing things.

Recipe for Emergency Soup
(improv on the cupboard and fridge)
take the left over roast chicken along with the BBQd rib from the fridge and strip all the meat from the bones. Discard the skin, extra fat and gristle. Chop the remaining meat and put in a large pot.

To that add 1-2 tsps of ground cumin and 1-2 tsps of ground chipotle powder. Cover with 1 qt chicken stock (the kind that comes in a paper box is very handy) and bring to a boil.

Pour 2 jars of your favorite salsa in the blender and puree. Turn heat down on pot and add the pureed salsa, a can of rinsed black beans (or your favorite) and a cup of frozen corn. Let this simmer for a half hour while you rest in the easy chair and drink some more tea.

You can garnish this with all sorts of things but if your sick whatever...just have some soup and try not to move too much.

Also, if you are working on your own 100 Days of Kindness projects please let me know how you're doing.