Deliberately healthy...

Ugh! A summer cold! Just when I thought I was in the clear from catching Johnny's cold - bam! I felt that old familiar tickle in my throat. In fact, I think I felt the cold coming on the night before - my knees and hips were really achy (like lupus-achy, not just an ache from too much activity or an achy-all-over feeling you get with the flu) and it hurt to walk on the balls of my feet. Don't know if you know what I'm talking about with the feet sensitivity - but it happens to me all the time with lupus. It might be my elbows, feet, or hands - but it's as if nodules in those areas of my body just crop up and suddenly become super sensitive. I've met a couple of other Lupites who experience the same thing - don't know if it's an official lupus symptom or not. I just know it's a sign of something to come. Thankfully, it was just an indication of this crummy cold and not a lupus flare.

So the first couple days of this cold were the worst: scratchy, sore throat, head congestion, tired - you know, the typical symptoms - when you don't look or sound like you have a cold but you feel crummy. I'm now in the second phase of the cold: runny nose, sneezing, sinus congestion. I feel a lot better, but now everyone in the world knows I have a cold because of the way I keep sniffling.

When Johnny was sick, I couldn't figure out why he wasn't thoroughly enjoying my delectable dinners, but now I know it was the cold. He just kept saying he wasn't hungry, and now I get it. I totally lost my appetite for about 2 1/2 days. Really. Breakfast (usually my favorite) didn't sound appealing, lunch wasn't very enticing, and forget about dinner. I just didn't feel like eating anything. I choked down a few odds and ends during the day, but I even passed on some homemade chocolate chip cookies. Sick as a dog, I must have been, you say!

But as I was experiencing this loss of appetite (and don't worry, Mom - my appetite is back), I was reminded of what happens to me during a lupus flare. My appetite plummets...I don't have the desire to eat a single thing. Maybe it's the lack of energy, or the fatigue, or the overwhelming pain - in fact, I imagine it's a combination of the three. Whatever it is, I recall having to force myself to eat at least a little something all throughout the day. If you're not well-nourished, the physical and emotional strength to get well won't come. You just get weaker and more run down.

So - during those first couple of days of my cold, I tried my best to eat. Not a lot. But at least a little. I reminded myself that Deerdeepants needed her mom to be healthy and strong - and here she is leading by example. "Look, Mom - eating is fun! Don't just chew your food - embrace it!"