Merry Cough-mas

“It must be my left foot, that foot is always the culprit,” I said to myself as I stifled another cough and contorted myself into an awkward turtle position to slather more Vicks on the sole of my left foot. (Vicks on the feet stops coughing for a good night’s sleep - usually).

It’s been over a week since six members of my family came down with this mysterious virus that robs you of your self-respect as you cough and dash to the nearest bathroom, an unfortunate by-product of motherhood.

It always starts with the smallest ones, the ones dripping in cuteness, rendering the adults powerless to avoid kisses and hugs, and then it spreads like a silent assassin through the family, leaving tissue box carcasses and empty cold pill blister packs in its wake.

Yes, this year we decked the halls with Lysol and cool mist humidifiers in hopes that Saint Nicholas wasn’t afraid of the common cold. (Cool mist humidifiers keep snot and mucus on the run - literally).

Despite illness overshadowing the holiday, the kids had a good Christmas and were in good spirits.

I’m thankful that the meds, Vicks and humidifiers seemed to help control the symptoms well enough so we could still enjoy time together through the coughs and fevers.

Life is rarely a Hallmark card or Lifetime movie; finding the silver lining in the midst of chaos continues to be the theme of parenthood for me.

How was your Christmas? I hope it was blessed. I hope you found so many reasons to smile.

I hope that if you missed someone over the holidays that their memory brought warmth to your heart and peace for a moment. I hope remembering their crazy shenanigans made you laugh out loud, and I hope you know just how much you were/are loved by them and so many others.

2026 is coming soon. What are your new year’s resolutions?

Mine are to be happy, eliminate stress, give more than I take, be grateful and try to end the year in better shape physically and financially than I started.

It sounds pretty standard probably, but my hopes for the new year are also peace and truth.

I pray that truth wins more often than lies and peace spreads like wildfire through the world.

I used to want different things, but as I age, I keep coming back to… peace.

It’s what I hope we all have in 2026.

I hope you have peace and rest and are able to appreciate all the beauty in your life.

I hope that when something wonderful happens in 2026, you notice it immediately and feel grateful for that moment. I hope that when you look back on the year, your heart is full. I hope whatever ails you passes soon and wish you an abundance of good health in the new year.

Lastly, I hope the start of this editorial made you smile. It is the fever-strickened ramblings of a Mombie (Mom + zombie) coming off of a five-day self-imposed quarantine with two tiny humans who still have one more week of freedom before going back to school.

Stay well.