Salud!

‘Salud’. A toast to health. That is often the word we use in our family and how appropriate it is to toast to the foundation of our lives. We treat our bodies like our mothers. We expect it to be there for us, to care for us, to do things for us, but we may not necessarily reciprocate; often being thoughtless and taking it for granted because, well, it is there.

It isn’t until we are sick, or our back hurts or our eyes sting or we can’t chew that we really give consideration and marvel at our body for taking care of us every day without complaint.

Yesterday morning, I woke up with a sore throat that slowly manifested into a cold throughout the day. By evening, my head was cold, I was shivering, my throat was still hurting, and I was sniffling, blowing my nose, and feeling congested all at the same time. Yes, I was sick, and no, I was not enjoying it. As I took my magic little red pills that look like they came from a game of my favorite Nintendo Game Dr. Mario (Tylenol Cold Rapid Release) waiting for it to work, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of appreciation for my body for taking care of me. How did I get sick I wondered? I wash my hands, I take a multi-vitamin and I do try to eat healthy (well I guess I could cut back on the milk tea and other sugary drinks).

I couldn’t sleep last night, partly because I just couldn’t breathe. Even the magic little pills were only able to provide me so much comfort for the night. I wish I had gotten the nighttime relief ones so I could be knocked out. Instead, I was left lying awake trying to breathe out of my mouth and trying to think about how nicely I would treat my body once I recover -work out more and eat less junk food.
But I know that I have been here before. Once I am well, I will soon forget how I was feeling and what promises I made to myself. As doctors often tell us, we only have one body and maintaining our health should be our number one priority (although it is so often not).

I am so grateful that I actually have the luxury to rest and allow my body to heal. We spend more time on the outside of my body and aesthetic appearance sometimes than we do on what’s working inside and that priority should be shifted. As I am getting ready to pop another pill (it’s been the requisite four hour wait time), I want to remind myself that once I get better, I still need to take care of my health and make a toast each day to it-Salud!