When in Rome…

Patric has been sick. It started with just a cold like the one everyone gets when Memphis weather gets fun, but then it turned into something worse. It’s never fun when you take your kid to the doctor and they say, “Wow. His ears look angry in there.”

I felt like a really bad person then for telling him to just keep taking Mucinex. I suck. But I am good at making him feel better.

When I was little (much much littler than Patric is now), my grandmother would make me a hot toddy if I got sick. Her version was lemon, honey, hot water, and a nice splash of Wild Turkey. Combine one of those with some cough syrup with codeine, and trust me, I felt better and I slept like a rock.

While I’m all for Patric learning that alcohol isn’t really a big deal at home instead of the hard way at college parties, I know that alcohol, even in toddy form, and medicines don’t mix. My grandmother was a rebel, never mind that to her dying day she swore she never drank alcohol because that would be wrong even if there was always a not-so-small bottle of Wild Turkey and a nice red wine under her sink. Those don’t count; they’re medicinal.

So, what is Patric’s sick-time beverage of choice? He’s always enjoyed a cup of hot tea with cream and honey. He’s been known to drink hot cocoa with marshmallows and a splash of coffee (in other words, not enough coffee to taste). But his all-time favorite go-to drink is hot apple cider.

It’s the time of year now for me when I don’t mind keeping a pot of the stuff going on the stove with cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and a tiny piece of crystallized ginger almost constantly. Now I have an excuse. While Patric is actually perfectly happy to just have a cup of juice from the fridge to the microwave, I like making it a little more special. And of course, if he’s having some, I have to “share” it with him. After all, it’s medicinal.

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