(probably not what you had in mind?)
On to my third post in as many days, I sit here with my fingers itching to write. My brain however, is begging to differ. I am experiencing a slight cold; which is fortunately a very rare occurrence for me. A little tingle in the throat kept me up most all of last night. Ironic that in the previous post, I mentioned my childhood gold velour couch. A little back story on this golden wonder is that it was incredibly comfortable, big and entertaining. Yes, I remember it being highly entertaining. How so? Well, the size and softness made a perfect medium to try out various acrobatic and gymnastic type moves (I always had a penchant for jumping on furniture or using furniture in ways that it just wasn't designed for) (sorry mom). When not competing for long and high jump competitions, the couch cushions (and every blanket in the house) were often used as the structural basis to many forts built within my youth. As much as the forts induced many an imaginative adventure, it was pure pleasure to experience a few tangible ones. With this, I would plunge my curious hand deep into the couch which proved fruitful, as much more than spare change would be fished out of the golden abyss. I likely used the excuse, "my couch ate my homework" without success, but it was certainly within the realm of possibility. Often I found small stuffed animals, socks, toys and many books (my books!) nestled down deep within the frame work of that couch. When storms arose and the lightening frightened me, my big sis would build a soft gold barricade around me, sheltering my young eyes and ears from seeing the bright flashes and muffling out the terrible rumbles.
Oh such fun memories! However, this couch served another very specific and humble purpose beyond all the playing, treasure hunting and protecting. It is the very thing that led me to say earlier that I find it ironic that I just mentioned the couch previously and that I was now writing about having a cold.
See, when any of us were sick, and especially if we were experiencing that annoying sleep disturbing throat tickle and cough (like last night), we would take ourselves out to the couch, and set up camp for the night. There were two couches, actually. One was several seat cushions long, and one that was about the size of a love seat, the better of the two for this purpose. The furniture ("funiture"!) had high large rolled arms. It was with these arms that we found our comfort when trying to sleep in bed with a nagging cold would not happen. The throat tickle is always at it's worst when lying down, so it is imperative to find a way to sleep sitting up. I don't know about you, but I much prefer to sleep lying prone. To sleep sitting up is to feel not only uncomfortable but also unsafe, like I'm going to fall over. Well these couches provided the perfect compromise. Sitting on either couch (especially the smaller love-seat style one) while nestling my body into both the back of the couch and the arm rolls, it was possible to feel snug and secure which paved the way for a comfortable nights sleep. And so, with you knowing this now, and me remembering it, all last night, just as I began to doze, every time the strong coughing sensation would disturb my slumber, I'd feel wistful for that old gold chair. Tossing and turning, I'd pile the pillows in varying configurations to try to find the least cough summoning position. Pillows plumped high yet mashed for some level of comfort, I felt desperate to sleep and yet just as I would nod off, either the tingle would come back or I would feel like I was falling over. Nothing could be done to make myself comfortable, and so it was almost day break when I finally fell into a deep sleep for a few hours.
Overall I feel pretty good. My colds tend to be minimal in symptom and duration. Although this isn't axiomatic, it is certainly helpful that I have a tendency to be aware of the early warning signs, ie; increased fatigue, food and drink cravings, sleep disturbances beyond the norm and a desire to "nest". If I oblige to my need for extra sleep, warmth, food and drink choices (gravitate towards better nutritional intake) then I seem to get through it quicker and without too much issue, sometimes avoiding anything beyond the aforementioned.
After waking and getting dressed, I ventured out to the store to purchase a few needful things. Since the giant old squishy couch has not been in my life for a couple of decades or more, my cold care needs would have to be of the more traditional nature. My simple list included buying a fresh bag of cough drops (the ones I used last night were dated from 1999!), a box of Puffs Plus (on any given day I like regular tissues, but my red chaffed nose is grateful for the extra softness), a gallon of orange juice and chicken noodle soup (yes, cliche, but I had such a craving for them and extra fluid is always good, I believe), some night time cold medicine (I want to be knocked out and deep asleep tonight or things could get worse) and a warm mist humidifier for the bedroom. I think this last thing is going to be most helpful of all. The lack of humidity was likely the biggest culprit last night. So tonight, kind readers, I am off to getting comfy, make myself something to eat, brew a hot mug of green tea and then settle down on the couch in front of the tv to watch a movie. There is healing in slovenliness.
Thanks for reading, there is more to come soon!
