Soften Saturday: I Have a Cold

I have a cold.  There, I said it.  It’s out there for the whole world to read.

What’s the big deal, you ask?  Well, when one shares healthy/healthier/healthy-ish recipes and helps others find their way into eating food that makes them feel optimal, there’s this expectation that I’m always going to be well, impervious to the viruses floating around, the viruses striking down those who eat less than optimally, those who don’t take care of their bodies.  So when I do have a cold, I’m fearful of sharing that with you and with others.

Wanna know why?  Because the last time I had a cold, someone very snarkily said to me, “So how’s that whole healthy-eating-moderate-exercise thing working out for you now?”

I shared this with a wise friend who said to me, “Imagine how many colds you might have had if you didn’t change how you take care of yourself,  if you didn’t find out what foods make you feel optimal. And imagine how much harder this cold could have hit you if you weren’t taking good care of yourself.”

Yeah, so there!  Take that, haters. I have a cold. I’m sniffly, my eyes are watering, I can’t hear out of one ear.  I. Have. A. Cold. End of story.  It doesn’t mean that what I am doing to take the best care of me isn’t working, it just means I caught a cold from a kiddo that sneezed all over me last week.

Here’s my soften point for the week:  try to be a bit softer to those who are making changes that they feel will best improve their health or happiness.  It’s ok for them to follow their own path without us casting judgment.  And also, be softer to yourself.  It was tough for me to say/type aloud that I have a cold, lest you think the changes I’ve made aren’t worth the effort.  I’ve felt pretty darned good for the past 358 days, so a week with a cold isn’t a bad trade off.  I’m going to be softer to me and more transparent with you.  When I’ve got a cold, I’m gonna tell you.  And maybe I’ll even share what I’m doing to defeat it, which so far has included an immunity juice with ginger and cayenne plus a bag of dill pickle potato chips.  One of them was probably more effective than the other, but I heard something about feeding a cold. 😉

Have a good weekend, sweet readers. And be kind to those with a cold.