I used to maintain that drinking was what kept me from getting colds, since all that alcohol had to be killing germs along with my liver. But since I hadn’t been sick in over a year of sobriety, I had to conclude that perhaps clean living, along with a ton of exercise, might actually deserve the credit for my good health.
Then again, I live with three little germ reservoirs who generously share all the nasties they pick up at school — particularly Oliver, who prefers to drink from my drink even after repeated admonishments to get his own damn cup of water.
So I really wasn’t surprised when the weekend before the Tinker Bell Half Marathon I woke up with a wad of snot in my throat. The boy had been sniffing and hacking for days beforehand.
While I forced myself to drink fluids and nap during the week leading up to the race (when I really ought to have been training), both Oliver and CJ have continued to do as children and annoying co-workers will: “Cold? Oh, that. Whatever. Who cares if I expose everyone else to my illness?” Life, along with coughing and snorting, goes on as usual.
Last night, CJ crawled into bed with me and proceeded to explain the upper respiratory system, including the problem of sinus congestion. Except, as she put it, “those holes in your head — not your nostrils, but here [points to forehead] and here [points to lower jaw] — that have lots of snot in them.”
Apparently unsatisfied with my comprehension of her explanation, I found this illustration this morning:
I’m not sure who the little beret-wearing jalapeno pepper is, but I do like his mustache. And jalapenos are one surefire way to clear out the sinuses.
