Home Sick

My daughter is home sick today; she had a high fever and feverish dreams through the night. She was sent home from school yesterday and had passed out on the couch under many blankets. Still, she knew we had made one of her favorite dinners (chicken breasts with mushrooms, basmati rice, French baguette) and she couldn't bear to miss it. She bravely propped herself up at the table and ate a few bites, which was amazing given her state. I couldn't help but think of it as a prime example of comfort food.

The maxim should be "feed a fever, feed a cold" because if the sick one can eat and keep down the food, they probably should. Food gives comfort and energy; it gives warmth if it's a hot bowl of soup and it can quench a thirst when you are parched.

So, I may go digging in the freezer today to see if I have enough leftover chicken bones to make a decent soup for my dear daughter. Chicken soup has been considered curative since ancient times and modern scientific research has recently backed the folklore claim. Whether its placebo or some actual benefit of the ingredients, I find that just the aroma of boiling chicken stock can have salutary effect. It certainly can't hurt.

In my cohort, there's a lot of sickness going around--stomach flus, fevers, run-of-the-mill colds. It's just the season, especially if you have kids, who are unwitting vectors. Take care of yourself, and take care of your loved ones if they are felled. Think comfort food and make some chicken soup to get you through it.