Grandma's Remedies to the Rescue

January is a big month for the flu here in Israel, even if the weather is relatively mild. I know of a lot of people who have been sick, and the hospitals are full.

The other day I started to feel very tired, my nose started to run, and I had that tell-tale slight ache in my muscles that signals that I am coming down with something.

I said to myself that there was no way I could call in sick to work - after all I have only been there for one week! So I took "emergency measures".

I didn't care what was happening in the house, I took a warm shower and got into comfortable clothes. I then did what my husband's grandmother (may she rest in peace) used to tell us to do. First I ate a grapefruit (Vitamin C in its most natural form) and then I ate a raw clove of garlic (antibiotic properties). The garlic was hard to get down, but from experience in the past it really works.

I then made myself a cup of tea, and got into bed with some light reading. I told myself that I would rest, and my body would use its strength to heal itself, and even if I still felt badly the next morning, sitting in an office in front of a computer would be a piece of cake compared to what I used to do. I remember being a mother of two toddlers (two very active toddlers, who obviously thought that Evil Knieval was a great role model) and being sick - but there are no sick days for mommies! When I was very ill my husband would take a day off from work to take care of them, but there were always times when I was under the weather and he couldn't take time off.

Thankfully I felt ok the next morning, and by the afternoon I was back to my normal self. Garlic (and grandma) to the rescue!