Comfort Finds Us

When I had my baby, almost eight years ago, I imagined my world was going to change. I mean, doesn't every parent look forward to having their world rocked by this new experience called "parenthood"? Yeah, but what I didn't know was that I was going to go from getting sick once a year to being sick pretty much ALL THE TIME. It is definitely unfair that I also started developing seasonal allergies at the same time that went undiagnosed for the first two years of constant doctor's visits.*

Not all mothers experience this, but many do: you get sick every time your baby does. Which totally sucks because they have to catch up to you with their immune system and literally have to catch EVERYTHING.

For almost seven years I caught everything Max did and also had to deal with seasonal allergies which are a lot like getting constant mini-colds. Then a little over a year ago, nothing remarkable happened. And continued to not happen.

Well, now Philip has a nasty chest cold, and I will probably get it too. This is always much worse for people with serious asthma than it is for the rest of us. He stayed home from work which is a true indication of how bad he is feeling because the man has a very hard time admitting to being sick.

So with hardly any teasing at all I made sure that my Camille in training got some good soothing comfort food. Luckily neither of us finds beans hard to digest. I served Philip some black bean stew with fresh cilantro over a layer of mashed Golden Hubbard squash with salt, pepper, and butter. I made it look super pretty so I could show you how amazing my culinary skills are.

Then I slopped some in a bowl for myself. Because I've been getting extra personal around here lately, I figured, why not show you my petticoats in the kitchen? Yes, I slop things in bowls for myself. This picture is not posed. In fact, I wasn't going to show you the underpinnings but when I saw how I had practically thrown my mashed squash in the bowl with bits oozing out it made me laugh and I thought you might enjoy seeing what a true slob I am at heart.

I ran a bunch of errands and then, when I returned home I made some soup. Not just any soup but some unphotogenic soup. The kind that frightens colds away and warms your body from the inside out. I made a curried winter squash soup with coconut milk, ginger, garlic, and hot peppers. My mouth is still burning from it and I feel empowered, like my alter ego could be named...


I don't know if I'm going to get this nasty chest cold or not. I've decided that if I do, I'm going to have a great attitude about it because there's nothing I can do to stop it besides eat well, sleep well, and get through it. I'll still have to work and it's OK. The fall is beautiful. Spicy Thai soup is the best remedy for the encroaching cold (though remedy implies that I don't want it to come, which I do!). Things around here are mending and healing on a cellular level. That's way more important than a stupid painful gut-aching sleep depriving virus.

Right?

Go eat good food and don't get sick, OK?

*The doctors laughed at me for thinking something was wrong because I was sick all the time. They'd say "But you have a baby, right?" and then "Well, you have a toddler...right?" Because that obviously explains the constant swollen throat.

**That is a bald faced lie. What leaped into my mind was "...Ginger Power Unincorporated!!..." but I immediately thought "Boy am I glad I didn't say that out loud!".