It’s cold and flu season, and at one time or another, everyone eventually comes down with something. This year has been extraordinarily difficult in our house in regards to catching a bug or two. Fortunately, all the times we’ve been sick, mom hasn’t come down with the bug so there’s been one person managing the extra to-dos or maintaining a routine while everyone is sick.
After family came through town on a visit recently however, that all changed.
We were blessed to have some family come through town to visit around Christmas, but the next thing we knew mom was sick, and I knew taking a sick day would be difficult. At first, I was planning to take down the Christmas decor and start getting life back to normal at our house, but I quickly realized I wouldn’t be doing much of anything. I was sad to delay getting back into the swing of things, but sometimes life needs us to slow down and be grateful we made it through another day. We managed to get by thankfully, but I vowed to keep some things on hand during sick season to help curb the chaos for next time. What kinds of things do you keep stocked for illness in your home?
My husband unfortunately has no more PTO days because he had to use them on his own sick days, driving family to and from the airport during the holidays, various unforeseen construction issues with our house, and working on regular repairs our home desperately needs. It’s been a little more rough this year than usual since we are still moving in and adjusting to our new home. I knew I had to use whatever resources I could to get the supplies I needed and get through the next couple of days with what appeared to be a bad case of RSV. We have five kiddos and are expecting a new baby in February, so sickness is always a circus when it runs through our family. This is the first time I have ever been this sick this far along in a pregnancy and I hope it never happens again. Just trying to cough was a struggle. The entire time I was so thankful our new baby hadn’t made her arrival yet.
Time doesn’t stop for mom, so I had to figure out medicine, tea, and some hot soup for everyone.
Fortunately, I had some cans of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup and Tylenol on hand for the first two days when I could barely move. Then, luckily for me, I could get Walmart to deliver things to my home. That saved me from having to go out to the store sick with possibly one or two sick kids to get what we needed. I added extra supplies to make a few of my family’s favorite homemade soups, another humidifier, kids’ medicine, cough drops, and those awesome fever patches for toddlers.
In the future, I need to make a plan to go through my medicine bins and clean out old expired medicines and make sure I’m stocked on key essentials at least quarterly so that I don’t land myself in this position again. Some of our favorite products to have on hand are dye-free Tylenol and Motrin, elderberry, children’s natural cough suppressant (like Zarbees), forehead fever reducing patches, cough drops, and extra canned soups and plain saltine crackers for when we can’t make homemade. We try to open up the windows to let bad air out and fresh air in, although it’s difficult when it’s very cold outside. I also have house plants that are supposed to maximize the oxygen indoors.
